PTC

Getting the Team Name “Out There”

March 28, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

I found this blog I wrote from last year. Thought I’d post it here:

HS Swim Season 2015

This year we absolutely need to raise money, but we also need to raise awareness that, YES, we do have a swimming and diving team. We need to get the word out and make some noise so others will recognize what a great sport it is. One of the things I’ve put together for the kids this year was spirit wear. I’m not sure what they’ve really had in the past, but I know for as long as we’ve been here, I have never seen any spirit wear other than the normal football, basketball, soccer or track (and I think that’s just because Matthew has some) – the usual suspects. Anyway, so I made up a design and sent it into the printers. They in turn sent me back some AMAZING designs based on mine and we were off! I picked out several items that I thought the kids might enjoy including 2 different styles of sweatpants, hoodie, long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt and pajama pants. I also put an option for embroidered beanies – one for dive and one for swim. The pants were a huge hit with the kids. Instead of the usual mascot name down the leg, this time they say SWIMMING. There is also a paw print with our high school initials in it at the top. They really loved to show what sport they are participating in. I didn’t use this as a fundraiser, simply because I wanted to make it affordable for the kids. I have another idea in the works for spirit wear that will be an incredible fundraiser for the team but that is something totally different and I’ll share with yall at a later date, though!

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Always Looking

March 28, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

Always Looking

I am always looking for a new way to raise funds. There is just something inside of me that LOVES to do this. I get bored with the same old, same old. Like today, Fortune cookies caught my eye for Valentines Day. How cute is that, right? At the moment, it’s looking quite expensive for high schoolers but I’m just getting started.

There are so many unique and creative ways to raise money. I think my least favorite, though, is through a catalog. I honestly do not like catalog fundraisers. The ones that you sell chocolates, sausages and cheeses or even the gifts — I just do not like them. I’m not saying I won’t buy from them when one of the neighborhood kids comes around with their package. But they just are not my favorites. If I have to pick from a favorite fundraising catalog, it would probably be the wrapping paper ones. I have this weird thing for wrapping paper. It’s actually something that I’ll buy when we go to England. My husband thinks I’m crazy. But it’s a weakness. I can’t pass up pretty wrapping paper.

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Valentines Day Fundraising Ideas

March 28, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

Valentines Fundraising Ideas

A new year just started and we are rapidly coming up to Valentines Day. This is the perfect time to raise a little money for your cause while at the same time, filling the need that this special day requires:)

There are many options for Valentine’s Day fundraising. You could do the big catalog fundraisers for chocolates, candies or gifts. Or you could go an easier, simpler route. For me, I am not keen on large catalog sales so I will, of course, go for the simpler option. I thought I’d share some of the ones that are tried and true with you:) Remember, before you plan any fundraiser you need to get approval by your school or organization administration. There will be rules that must be followed and you may have to bend or work your fundraiser around the rules and regulations that are written out by your school or organization.

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Concessions on the Fly

March 28, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

Concessions on the Fly

Our middle son, Matthew, is our swimmer. He’s been swimming age group for many years. This year is his first year swimming for his high school team – and boy are things different! Unlike age group, we literally have no budget.

Recently, we were challenged with pulling concessions for our biggest meet, an invitational, together in under a week. We knew that the invitational was coming. I had already sent an email out to the team with a list of what we needed and hoped for donations. I also made plans to shop for concession necessities that were not to be donated on the day before; assuming that I would just turn the receipts in, as I always had for any event that required concessions (School, Age Group swim, etc). However, the Sunday night before the Saturday meet, the coach informed me that all concessions HAD to be donated. I also learned that not only were we to cover food donations but we were also responsible for napkins, plates, bowls, spoons, etc. Whatever we were going to need to serve the food. No reimbursements were to be given.

Wait… WHAT??

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Things to Consider

March 28, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

Things to Consider

I love planning events. I love coming up with new ways to reach a goal — and that’s the easy part. The hard part is figuring out if that idea is going to actually be beneficial, and if it is, what is the best time to make a go of it. Here are some observations that I’ve made over the years. Some are obvious some may not hit you until afterwards. But as they say, ‘Hindsight is 20/20”.

Find out your competition. Is there someone else you will be competing against for the funds? Recently, I came up with, what *I* thought was a fabulous idea to make a little extra money for swim team.

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