School Inspires Their Entire Community, Challenging Mayor & Police Department To Spread Kindness!
Fast Facts
Location: Washington State
Age Group: Elementary
Donations Received: Over $30,000
% Donations Kept: 90%
Acts of Kindness Completed: Over 500
The launch
Mukilteo Elementary School launched their fundraiser with much excitement as they rallied around a campaign entitled, “Kindness Matters”. This school, located outside of Seattle, WA, made an impact so big, their mayor and police chief got involved!
Building up to their launch, their amazing PTSA engaged the school through a student-produced video about their plans to spread kindness and serve their community. By incorporating the students, they got the parents excited as well! Communicating in advance allowed families to grasp the Raise Craze concept and get on board early.
THE KINDNESS CHALLENGE ISSUED TO CITY OFFICIALS
Once the fundraiser launched, the community was fully invested. Excitement went through the roof! Just a few days in, the students challenged the police chief to complete 3 acts of kindness. The police chief accepted and then challenged the mayor! The famous saying, “kindness is contagious,” was proven true. The two town leaders even made videos documenting how they planned on spreading kindness. These city officials were truly leading by example, and the community was delighted to follow suit.
The Outreach To Local BusinesseS
During the planning period, the PTSA members reached out to various local businesses for sponsorships and raised $5K before they even kicked off! This gave their school the financial flexibility to pay for the incentives they wanted to hand out to participants. The local businesses were able to choose from a variety of packages. In exchange, the school promoted them on their “Kindness Matters” t-shirt, as well as on their website and social media pages.
The Result
Mukilteo Elementary exceeded their goal, raising $31,500 and completing over 500 acts of kindness! While the fundraiser ended, the kindness did not. This is a community that’s truly living up to Mayor Gregerson’s goal of making the city of Mukilteo the kindest city around!
The TAKEAWAY
Here are a few takeaways that contributed to Mukilteo Elementary’s success:
Communicate Early Communicate with parents, faculty and staff well before the launch of your fundraiser. Get people excited about a new and different way to fundraise! Incorporate their ideas on ways to help your local community. This early buy-in will set you up for success.
Reach Out to Local Businesses Reach out to local businesses to help offset costs and maximize your results. From sponsoring prizes to matching donations, companies love being part of a fundraiser rooted in kindness.
Community Engagement Engage your city officials! Turn the act of spreading kindness into a snowball effect by involving your local leaders. This motivates not only your students, but the entire community!