JERRY LANE
"School days, school days, dear old Golden Rule days ... " and dear
old fund-raising days as well. It has always seemed to me that no
sooner are the kids back in their classrooms than they are calling on
me with subscription pads and magazines full of information on
hundreds of publications that I am supposed to order from them. I
used to wait to renew all my subscriptions until the annual magazine
drive came around. That way I didn't wind up with a bunch of
publications that I didn't really want.
There's a lot of reciprocal buying that goes on during these
drives. It's like, "O.K. ... I'll take a few subscriptions from your
kid, but when my kid comes home with those big candy bars, you'd
better be ready to take some of those off our hands." Sure, those big
chocolate bars are good, but how many can you eat?
And I suppose I like the candy better than the catalog of
Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons that the neighborhood kids
usually catch us for. It's beautiful paper, for sure, but the price
is breathtaking! For those of us who are used to stocking up on
wrappings at Big Lots, it's a bit more than we are comfortable
spending on stuff that winds up in the trash five minutes after we
give it away.
Girl Scout cookies are probably one of my favorite ways to help
kids raise money. Who doesn't like those tasty treats? You may not
buy a box of cookies all year, but when those little girls come to
your door with their order pads, you smile and say, "Sure!" -- and
maybe that's because the cookies are good. I like them almost as much
as the gourmet popcorn the Boy Scouts sold a few Christmases ago. I
received six cans for Christmas and liked it so much that I called
the Scoutmaster after the holidays and picked up the two cases he had
left over. Two cases lasted me the whole year and I enjoyed every
bit. In fact, I haven't found any popcorn that I like better.
Most of the schools and kids' clubs use these sales campaigns to
raise money, but my favorite way to raise money has always been the
car wash. Most of the sales projects were school activities, whereas
the car wash was a classroom assignment. After an exciting meeting of
parents, teachers and kids, the students would put up signs and
distribute handbills that were made up by a parent who worked for Sir
Speedy. On the appointed Saturday, everyone would meet at a
supermarket, service station or bank parking lot where the manager
had agreed to allow them to hook up their hoses and start washing.
