Ideas for schools and groups
Non-uniform day
Sometimes known as mufti day, this is a very popular and easy way to fundraise. Children simply come to school wearing ‘home’ clothes rather than uniform. If your school or community group doesn’t have uniforms, children can wear costume dress, come in their fanciest clothes, or even come dressed in a specific colour, or dressed as their favorite book character.
Each person participating donates a small amount.
Make sure to publicise the event well ahead of time and link to Kashfi’s Children, so people know the money is going to a good cause.
Shoe drop
We all know how fast kids’ feet grow, and most of us have a few pairs of shoes of our own that we no longer wear. There are a number of collection services that take unwanted shoes and pay upon collection. Take a look at services available online. Make sure that all shoes fit the criteria each service is looking for. Place weatherproof containers at the end of driveways or in school playgrounds for shoe collections and publicise your collection well ahead of time.
Sponsored silence or sponsored frown
Kids and adults love this one. Run it at school or in your community group, with either the children paying a small donation to take part, or paying up if they break the silence or crack a smile. Perhaps lay on some irresistible jokes to get them giggling or talking. It won’t raise massive funds but it’s one of those activities that takes very little to organise and is always popular with children and adults alike.
Grocery packing
Check with the manager of your local grocery store to see if they would allow bag packers for the day, with donations made by customers going to Kashfi’s Children. Have information on the book projects available for people to read, and collection boxes to make it easier for them to reward you. Be ready to reply if people ask you why you want to support books to children in need. This is an activity which works particularly well for community groups and schools.
Read-a-thon
Getting kids to read and keep a log of the time they do so is a great way to encourage them to read and an effective way to fundraise. Ask parents to have friends and relatives sponsor children to read (per page or per word depending on their ability). Be sure to congratulate them on how much effort they put in, and perhaps explain that not all children have access to books.
Face painting
Schools and community groups can operate a face painting event as part of a bigger event like a sports day or for a couple of hours at the end of a normal school day. Kids love face paint and if you can find a local who is up to the job and will either donate their time or charge you a nominal sum, you’ll get a good return if all the kids are charged a reasonable amount.
Make sure to publicise the event well ahead of time and link to Kashfi’s Children, so people know the money is going to a good cause.
