Springville Elementary School’s Raise Craze fundraiser, managed by Springville’s Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), raised $38,614 and completed 1,817 acts of kindness.
Raise Craze is an online platform enabling parents to set up secure, custom websites where they request donations via email, text, or social media. Emails are never shared or used for marketing. During the fundraiser, students pay it forward by completing acts of kindness for others – a great way to learn the value of gratitude. The original goal was to raise $30,000 that would be used for things like improvements to the school, funding for school events like Trunk or Treat, Summer Bash and school dances, and funding for school clubs and author visits.
“We want to see that kindness spread right out of their classroom, into the school, into their homes, into their communities, and we don’t want it to stop,” said Springville PTO co-president Katie Jack. “Kindness starts with them, and we want to see it continue. We’re excited to see the kindness growing around the school, and we really just try to inspire students and families that this is a great way to give back by doing little acts of kindness. It really does color the world, and they can make a big impact with one act of kindness that can create this wave in our community.”
Once Raise Craze participants use their school or group’s unique registration link to sign-up for the fundraiser, they enter emails of friends and family who are likely to support the school and choose ways to pay their donors generosity forward – either from a curated list or by creating their own. Donors are motivated to give based on the causes students share – for example, field trips, technology, equipment, uniforms, etc. During the fundraiser, participants pay their donors’ generosity forward by completing acts of kindness for others. Unlike pledge-based models, participants will be giving back regardless of receiving any individual donations. This fosters unity within the school community and ensures everyone can participate, regardless of socio-economic status.
“We always encourage our kids to be kind to one another,” Jack said. “We encourage our students to do things the Springville way, to think of others first, and to just be kind. At Springville everybody looks out for everybody, and the kids become this extraordinary family.”
Megan Kiefer serves as the PTO’s co-vice president of fundraising, and she wouldn’t switch the Springville community for the world. This year more than 300 students signed up for Raise Craze, which started at the end of September and wrapped up last month. While donations are super important, Kiefer said, the PTO also wanted the students to learn that doing acts of kindness also makes a big difference in the Mount Laurel community.
“We’re celebrating our students, but we reiterate to them that they’re making a difference and their acts of kindness make a difference throughout the world,” she said. “Our theme (was) to color the world with kindness, so I hope that they see the difference that they’ve made and they get that feeling of accomplishment and they move on with that sense of accomplishment.”
Local students complete acts of kindness for others through the fundraiser.
Springville Elementary School Principal Dr. William Grillo at the Raise Craze Color Run on Oct. 22.
Springville Elementary School’s Raise Craze fundraiser raised $38,614 and completed 1,817 acts of kindness.
