Taking the Act of Spreading
Kindness to Another Level
 

Ever heard the saying, "kindness is contagious"? We have. We've even seen it happen first hand. Case in point: Augusta Circle Elementary (ACE) in Greenville, SC. This school has been an innovator since the beginning, especially when it comes to how it fundraises. So in 2015, ACE was determined to lead the way once again and seek out something new and different. Despite the overwhelming success they had with a popular fun run company, they were tired of the pressure exerted on the kids and frustrated with the amount of money the fundraising company kept.

The launch

Here's where Raise Craze comes in. In partnership with a highly motivated PTA board, Raise Craze gave ACE and their surrounding community an experience like none other. The school kicked off their 3-week fundraiser with a school-wide service expo night where students and their families could begin their kindness adventure. Students made blessing bags for the homeless, decorated placemats for Meals on Wheels, created sunshine cards for the local children's hospital, wrote letters of thanks to veterans, and more. The students continued performing acts of kindness throughout their fundraiser. Not a transaction by any means, just as an act of gratitude.

tragedy strikes

Two weeks into their fundraiser, Columbia, SC was hit with treacherous flooding that greatly damaged a local elementary school. ACE felt the need to do something. Having already exceeded their goal, they decided to donate 100% of all funds received in the final days of their fundraiser to the school in need. It amounted to a gift of over $16,000!

the impact

As a company, we were blown away. The joy felt by completing small acts of kindness spiraled into something that neither Raise Craze nor ACE could even imagine. The school in Columbia was eternally grateful and the news spread like wildfire. Talk about changing the climate of your school! With a 93% rate of participation, the students completed 3,923 acts of kindness! One of the biggest takeaways for ACE was that this kindness movement is absolutely real and has lasted way beyond the time frame of their fundraiser. Like we said, it truly is contagious!

Up Next...League Academy Middle School