At the start of this annual fundraiser, I felt pretty unfamiliar with "the plan" to raise $35,000. I knew that the goal was to have each student bring in $100 through donations of immediate and extended family members, but it seemed almost too easy on the fundraising side of it. I was accustomed to selling some kind of product for months on end to raise what seemed like a disappointing amount of money. About halfway through this five-week fundraiser, I was a bit nervous that we weren't going to make it. The last week, however, was a completely different story. Students were more eager to participate, Mrs. Steele dressed up as a shark after her class stepped it up, and we moved the celebration to Wednesday because of cold weather. The number of donations was increasing more than I thought possible.
In the end, I felt God had a hand in surpassing our goal. Giving students a lively and successful celebration before the end of the fundraiser seemed to give families that extra push in its final days. The parking lot and playground were transformed into a carnival scene--the smell of popcorn, the tunes of DJ Rox, and the promise of face paint and tattoos created the atmosphere of a true celebration even before we hit our goal. I'm guessing students went home and raved about their time in the parking lot as parents scrubbed paint off of faces and unsuccessfully off uniforms. We apologize if your child got a bit of paint on their clothes while putting handprints on the parking lot--we tried to be extra careful. However, a spot of paint is not opposed to our uniform policy.
Overall, it was the work and generosity of our St. Peter families who made this fundraiser such a success and set aside any feelings of doubt I previously had when it comes to meeting the goals the following years of this annual fundraiser.