Eco-friendly fundraisers
Eco-friendly fundraisers are fast becoming popular with
PTAs - not only are they a brilliant way to raise money, but they
also raise awareness with families about ways they can help the
environment.
Ink-cartridge recycling
Paul Barnfather, PTA Chair, Beaudesert Lower School,
Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire (242
pupils): 'The Empties Please scheme involves donating used
ink cartridges in exchange for money for the school. The process is
incredibly easy - from registration to returning the boxes of
cartridges, then receiving payments. Our collection box is placed
in the school foyer, and in the past it has been overflowing with
donations!
We send out flyers biannually in book bags to remind parents
that we are collecting, and that these donations can really help
the school's finances! Once the box is full, we download the online
returns label and package the cartridges up to send away via a
click- and-collect parcel service.
We receive 75p for an original ink cartridge, and 25p for a
remanufactured one. 'Green points' are also awarded for every £1
raised, and these can be saved up to redeem against eco-goodies. We
have raised just short of £600, and our latest collection alone
raised £242! We ordered a giant butterfly tower with our 'green
points', and we used our last cheque to help fund a Christmas panto
trip for the whole school.'
Plant sale
Joanne McKee, PTA Chair, Abbey Primary School,
Newtownards,
County Down (610 pupils): 'Our
school's Eco Club has been running for about 10 years,
and children from primary 5 to primary 7 meet after school to take
part in different activities. The Eco Club have also supported the
PTA by running stalls at events - one of these being a plant stall
at our family fun day.
The plants and flowers were all grown by the children who attend
the club. They sent letters home encouraging families to donate
pots, containers and plants, and asked local garden centres for
donations. One parent also constructed a small polytunnel, where
the plants were nurtured before being transferred into pots just
before the event. On the day, the children set up a table in a
bright spot in front of the school. They charged between £5 and £10
per pot, with individual plants priced separately. The stall was a
great success - the children raised £250, and the whole family fun
day made over £4,000!'
Secondhand uniform
Claire Adam, PTA Secretary, St Albans Girls' School,
Hertfordshire (1,199 pupils): 'Our secondhand uniform
sales are great fundraisers and provide many families with an
affordable alternative to buying full-price uniform. We have a sale
at least once a term on a Saturday morning in the school.
With three helpers we can set up the stalls from around 9am and
be packed up by midday. The sale itself runs from 10am to 11.30am,
and we can expect between 20 and 50 families to turn up. A standard
sale raises between £200 and £500, and our best sale is held during
the Open Evening for the new Year 7 students a couple of months
before they start - from this we can take up to £1,000!
We are lucky that parents donate good quality, clean, but
outgrown uniform. We do sometimes take out items that are tatty or
do not meet school regulations though. There are no costs, parents
are appreciative, and we raise the profile of the PTA!'
Greenhouse project
Jamie Jardine, PTA Chair, Tilbury Pioneer Academy,
Tilbury, Essex (286 pupils): 'We decided that we'd like to
build a greenhouse from recycled bottles. We would need
approximately 1,500 empty 2-litre drinks bottles, as well as some
timber for the frame and posts, and garden canes and staples to
attach the canes to the frame.
We put an appeal out for people to start collecting plastic
bottles, and spread the word in the local press. A local building
company, Willmott Dixon, offered to supply the timber for the
structure, to cement the posts into the ground and help build the
frame. A community day was organised for volunteers to clean, cut
and fix the bottles to the frames.
In September, we held a grand opening. Representatives from
Willmott Dixon were invited, as well as our recently-retired site
manager and volunteers from the community who had helped with the
build. Headteacher, Dan George said, "Without the tireless support
of the families in our community and the PTA, this project would
not have been realised. To see it officially opened is a very proud
moment for us all!"'
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