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Magazines, Kids, Moms and Dads...

by Tom
(Ft. Myers, FL USA)

When our kids were younger, their middle school decided to have a fundraiser. Their approach was to have the kids in the school sell magazine subscriptions and give away prizes to the student that sold the most. There was a prize for the boy that sold the most and the girl that sold the most in every home room.

As popular as those incentives were, the one that got the most attention and generated the most excitement in the kids was the principal offering to have his hair shaved in front of the entire school if a certain goal was met. The kids were highly motivated to see that happen.

Of course our kids, like all of their classmates, "enlisted" their Moms and Dads to sell subscriptions where they worked. We got to "twist arms" at the office just like ours got twisted by coworkers when their kids had a fundraising project.

It seems to me that a major percentage of these fundraising efforts occur at Mom's and/or Dad's place of work. It's their coworkers that fund the school, Boy Scout or Brownie projects over the years.

Magazines weren't too difficult to sell because nearly everyone subscribes to a few. I preferred to sell magazines to food or raffle tickets. Food involved too much handling and raffles always came across as rigged since we never heard who actually won.

I'd suggest organizations use magazines as a fundraising tool and get the parents involved. It actually helps bond a family and is a good educational tool for the kids.