EASY PLASTIC-FREE(ISH) IDEAS FOR SCHOOL FUNDRAISERS
As we approach Summer fair season (someone needs to tell the weather it's summer...) there's been several posts in my Sustainable(ish) with Kids FB group asking for ideas for reducing the amount of single use plastic/plastic tat that is used by PTAs and schools for fundraising.
Sadly school fairs and stalls are pretty synonymous with plastic tat – whether the kids are paying to make a plastic bauble or Christmas decoration, or buying cheap plastic trinkets that delight for about half an hour before being dropped on the floor, or playing a game to win a (crap) prize.
There are thankfully lots of easy ways to raise funds for the school that are more eco-friendly.
SECONDHAND UNIFORM STAND
We have a secondhand uniform service at our school and it was a total lifesaver for me when our youngest first started school just days after the end of our buy nothing new year!
Now I get that not everyone(!) will be in the same position as me and trying to find secondhand uniform to allow them to fulfil a year long challenge, but I still think that this is a total win, win scenario.
Branded jumpers can difficult to pass on via charity shops, especially if there are lots of different schools locally. Add to that the fact that for most school/parents, the priority when buying uniform is price, meaning that most of it is cheaply made using synthetic materials. Whilst we can't do much about the buying choices that others have made, by having a secondhand service, it at least ensures that these garments are getting a second (third, fourth) life which vastly reduces their carbon and water footprints.
It's super easy to do, although the chances are that if you suggest it, you WILL may well be co-erced into providing and running the service.
- Source some sturdy plastic boxes, ideally with lids for storage (you might be able to get some from Freegle or similar)
- Let parents know about the service and ask for donations of clean, unstained uniform - we take anything from plain grey trousers and white shirts, through to school branded PE t-shirts and coats.
- Sell it at school events! We recently upped our prices from 50p an item to £1 an item, but having a blanket price makes it much less complicated.
BOTTLE TOMBOLA
Ask parents to donate a bottle - you can specify alcoholic, or just anything in a bottle (in which case you'll probably get things like tomato sauce, shampoo etc as well.)
Lay them all out on a table and fold up a load of raffle tickets in a bucket. If people pull out a '5' or a '0' they get to pick a prize. This is the simplest way of doing it and at least ensures people get a prize that they actually want/will use.
Don't forget to collect and recycle the used raffle tickets!
JAR JAR TOMBOLA
Ask the children to bring in old jam jars filled with something nice for a kids tombola which works in the same way as the bottle tombola. Stipulate non plastic – suggestions include packets of seeds, crayons, mini coloured pencils, hair bands, sweets etc.
SECONDHAND TEDDY STALL
Ask for donations of clean, undamaged teddies to sell on a stall.
If you have someone at school/on the PTA who is a dab hand with a needle and thread, they might be persuaded to run a "Teddy Hospital" performing simple repairs for a fee!
TIN CAN ALLEY/SKITTLES
These kinds of games are always popular stands at school fairs. Give away paper bags of pick 'n' mix, or pencils etc as prizes.
Alternatively if there are lots of game stalls, issue cards where the children can collect stamps and then once they have 10 (for example) they get to pick a prize of higher value, like a book, or a set of colouring pencils.
TOY/GAME SWAP
Ask families to have a sort out and donate any unwanted toys or games that are clean and in good condition.
Lay them out nicely in a classroom or the school hall, and then charge £1 entry, and allow each child to pick x number of toys to take away for 'free'.
CAKE SALE
You can't beat a good cake sale can you? We have one every half-term at school and each class takes it in turn to organise it and bake for it, which spreads the load from the shoulders of the PTA members!
Ask for donations to be bought in on the morning, and then set up a table in the playground/hall after school. We sell everything for 50p a piece to keep it simple.
You will probably need a stash of paper bags for people to take cake away in, or you can actively encourage people to bring their own tupperware pots with them.
TEXTILE RECYCLING
Schemes like Bag 2 School make this super easy. Simply ask parents/carers to donate any old/unwanted textiles, the company will arrange to pick it up, weigh it and write you a cheque on the spot.
PICK 'N' MIX SWEET STALL
Buy some large 2kg+ jars/boxes of penny sweets and sell them in paper bags.
I managed to re-home the empty jars via Freecycle when we did this for the school disco.
SECONDHAND BOOK STALL
Ask for donations of unwanted/unloved children's books and sell them all for 50p each. This works well either as a stand alone event/stall at a fair, or alongside a cake or secondhand uniform sale.
A general note if you're running a beer tent, or offering tea and cake etc.
If you're wanting to reduce single use plastic, the temptation may be to go for 'compostable' cups and plates etc. However the problem with these kind of things is that they are only compostable under very specific conditions, which requite industrial composting at dedicated facilities. They need to be collected separately from the rest of the rubbish and then transported to one of these facilities (most councils do not have the infrastructure, although do check with your local council). The additional problem is that if these 'compostable' plastics end up in the regular plastic recycling, they mess up the waste stream as they are usually made of an inferior/different quality plastic and therefore contaminate the regular stream.
My advice would be to actively go down the reusable route, and be very vocal about - use it as a selling point/educational opportunity. Ask people to bring their own coffee cups, or most village halls etc will have proper cups and washing up facilities.
For beer tents, again ask people to bring their own cups/glasses and keep hold of them for refills and take them home with them at the end of the day. The other option is to invest in some plastic reusable cups that can be used year on year. Charge £1 (or more) deposit - ask people to bring it back for refills and then return it at the end of the day to get their deposit back.
