Ready, Set, Bag!

Check out these quick, no-fuss fundraisers that your community will THANK you for... 1.  Bagging for Charity.  Ask your local supermarket if your group can help bag groceries for donations.  This helps move busy lines along with no cost to the store, and earns your group monies.  Simply decorate donation jars and put at the end of every checkout line with a cheerful volunteer. Best days for this fundraiser is right before Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve. Volunteers can even help load cars for an extra perk! You'd be surprised how thankful and generous busy local shoppers can be. 2.  Wrapping for Charity.  Check with a local strip mall, popular store or even your local mall and see if your group can wrap gifts for donations.  Simply set up a large table and supply varying sized boxes, tissue paper, wrapping paper, bows, ribbons and gift cards. This fundraiser can run all month and is guaranteed to earn money and goodwill.  You may want to charge a small fee to cover the materials, and then display a  Donation Jar to collect for your efforts.

After School Programming Linked to Higher Test Scores

Yep that's right! Numerous studies suggest that high-quality after-school programs enhance students’ academic success in school. After-school programs lead to better attitudes toward school and stronger school engagement; stronger school performance, as measured by standardized test scores and grades; higher rates of school attendance; fewer behavioral problems; and lower dropout rates (Afterschool Alliance, 2008).

So the question is "does your child's school offer After School Programming?  If so, are the programs designed for the interests and development of all students or do they simply serve the needs of the athletes and techies.

It is so simple and FUN to become creative and coordinate interesting and varying after school programs that include all types of Art, Science, Sports, Community Service, Games, Robotics, Hobbies, Animals and Travel?  You can even start a DO NOTHING CLUB where the kids simply spend quality time together after school playing games or old fashioned outdoor activities like Kick the Can.

Think about bringing some fun Enrichment Weeks to Your School perhaps a
A Week of Wizardry including ...Magic Classes, Chemistry Potions, Quid ditch, Poetry and Spell Writing.  
Travel to Asia including...Asian Art Project, EggRoll Cooking Class, Mommy & Me Yoga.
HobbyLand including... Stamp Collecting, Comic Book Art, Painting, Tennis.
The number of ideas are only limited to your imagination so have fun with it!

Oh, and by the way.  Everyone in the community benefits.  The kids get to hang out with their friends after school and learn about new and interesting things, parents get a couple extra free hours at a great price, community businesses get to promote their services, and teachers can earn a few extra dollars and connect with their students on a casual and fun basis.

Win! Win! Win!

Pssst...  and don't forget to use www.TheSignUpHub.com for online Registration and Payments!  It makes your job a snap.
  

Fundraising Idea:  Flamingo Flocking

We'd  like to start sharing great ideas and success stories of our current customers!  Mendham HS Competitive Cheer Club is currently raising $$$s and having fun by engaging their town with a Flamingo Flocking!  What is flocking?  Well late at night a flock of flamingoes appears on your front lawn.  The family then  'DONATES' by leaving money in an envelope to have them removed and perhaps "DONATE MORE" to flock another friend or foe of their choice.  

How?  It's Easy... simply purchases pink flamingos (approximately 250 but the # is up to you).  There are many different ways to organize your 'flockers' or fundraiser in general.  Best to visit the website to find out more. (HINT:  Leave a sign on the lawn with the flamingoes with a note describing "Flocking' to your victim.  With this note, leave the envelope and a cellphone number of the Person in Charge.  They can text to have the flock removed and to send the address of the next victim).  Then parents & children migrate the flocks from house to house. Best to run this fundraiser every night to every other night for 3 weeks.  Mendham Cheerleaders flocked their fall sports stars each week with notes of encouragement throughout the season! What a FUN-draiser way to CHEER on their school! 

Details of this fundraiser can be found on www.flamingofundraiser.com

Made easy by www.TheSignUpHub.com

Are Club Sports Worth It?

If your child wants to play competitive soccer, softball, cheerleading (plug in any sport), just go online and you will most likely find a Competitive Club  close by.

What do I know about Club Sports Teams?  Well they are guaranteed to cost a lot of money, take up a lot of time, force your child to commit to playing the sport for more than just one season, pull you away from town EVERY vacation and holiday weekend, eliminate family dinnertime, and require excessive travel and carpool coordination.  Grandma (my mother) thinks our generation of team moms is crazy to put our children and ourselves thru this stress and scheduling. So, is she right are we crazy?

I had to think about that one.  What are the benefits of club sports? Are they worth the financial and time sacrifice? Why not just sign up for the low cost, low stress, town rec program where the children are engaging with their school friends?

Here are the top 5 reasons Club Sports Are Good!.

1. Gives Them Skills to Play in High School & Beyond

Club sports are typically coached by professionals, not just  a willing Mom or Dad.  These coaches are trained and experienced in the sport; teaching our children the skills they need to succeed on the field, court or mat. We live in a highly competitive world where more and more kids are playing a single sport, sometimes year round.  Unless your child is a 'superb natural athlete' they will need more than just town rec training to be competitive at a varsity level. So, if your goal is to have your child  participate in Varsity sports in high school, then you need to give them the tools to succeed!

2.  Teaches Commitment

Most Club Sports demand a ridiculous level of commitment.  Few absences are excused, injuries simply not allowed,  and studies or a job commitment must take aback seat.  While most of us are rolling our eyes in frustration that little Sally can't miss a tournament for Grandma's 80th birthday party, it is one of few activities in todays age, where commitment is enforced.  With the coming of internet and cellphones, our families are in a constant state of flux. No one commits to anything until the very last minute.  Why?  I don't quite know...maybe they are waiting for better offers or maybe they just don't have to.  Heck, I can't even get friends to commit to a party more than a week before.  In our constantly changing technological word, we are fooled into thinking we don't need to commit to anything and yet commitment and hard work are essential principles for success!

3.  Improves Social Adeptness

Club sports typically draws kids from a variety of towns and demographics.  These kids also tend to move between Club Sports Teams which guarantees your child will be forced to meet, accept and  work with many different people...people they don't already know and outside of their community.  They will be constantly introducing themselves, defining and redefining friendships. They will be both leaders and followers, being challenged by each new  super star that walks on the field. Learning how to build friendships, understanding their own strengths and weaknesses, and how to work with ever changing teams of people can only strengthen their social adeptness and independence, preparing them for the challenge of college and beyond!

4. Strengthens Your Relationship

Okay so family dinners may be halted for a while with practice schedules, but they're not gone only replaced. I spend a lot of time driving to and from practices and tournaments.  I relish that time to talk with my daughters and their friends.  I find out more in our one-on-one time together than I would at home. Home has distractions like the CELLPHONE, my work, television and other siblings.  As a parent, when I agree to a Club Sport and commit to an activity they love, I am reinforcing my love and belief in them. I am putting time aside to watch, support and focus on what they enjoy and who they are.  These special moments seem  too infrequent these days, and time flies by too fast for  regrets.  With the myriad of home and work pressures each day, we don't always take the time we should to give our kids the attention they deserve.  Club sports demands this time from us...it forces parents to watch, listen, and engage with their kids!

5.  It's Hard!

Club Sports IS hard.  But hard is good!  I feel in this generation (and here is where I may loose some) that parents spend a lot of time protecting and serving their kids.  We don't let them struggle through The Hard!  It is hard to balance late night practices with homework, or play through injuries, or get benched because someone is better than you or you missed a practice or two.  It's hard to navigate your way through coaching styles and peer groups.  But let's not forget parents, hard is good!  It builds strength of character and maturity.  It prepares our children for the realities of life and our competitive world. It's okay to let our kids be challenged, stressed (to a point) and tired.  Hard is Good!

So, the next time you are writing out that check or filling in your calendar, remember all the benefits you are gifting your children.  Somehow, it makes it all seem a little bit more worth while!