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Home > 'Go for your life' Canteen Advisory Service > Healthy fundraising ideas
Healthy fundraising ideas
Healthy fundraising ideas
Traditional fundraising activities include chocolate drives, lamington drives, cake stalls, sausage sizzles and money raised from vending machines. While fundraising is often a crucial means of providing additional finances, most of these activities do not promote health or support healthy eating, and are not in the best health interests of children, families or the community.
Do the School Confectionery Guidelines apply to school fundraising activities?
The school’s food service, curriculum programs and other school activities involving food should be complementary. Positive peer pressure within the educational setting can create a culture in which nutritious foods and a healthy lifestyle are actively chosen. This culture should permeate the entire school environment. Fundraising activities that promote healthy lifestyles are encouraged to assist this whole-school approach.
Many schools have been conducting profitable fundraising with healthy fundraising activities such as toothbrush drives or fun runs, with the added bonus of promoting healthy messages at the same time. For ideas for healthy fundraising activities, refer to ‘Go for your life’ Healthy Canteen Kit – Getting Started or download the fact sheet Healthy fundraising ideas (72 kb, pdf) for your school and canteen.
Nutrition Australia’s Healthy Fundraising Book also provides many healthy fundraising alternatives to assist schools in moving away from traditional chocolate drives. The book contains practical advice on how to run healthy fundraisers and includes a range of flyers from fundraising companies taking the hard work out of having to do the research of what’s out there. Download the Fundraising ideas for healthy kids flyer (182 kb, pdf) to find out more and how to purchase the book.
How did Spring Valley Primary School make the change?
Spring Valley Primary School replaced their chocolate drive with the Colgate Bright Smiles Fundraising program - a great healthy alternative that also promotes good oral health. Schools can purchase boxes containing 8 adult packs (a pack being a Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste) and 4 kids packs. Each pack costs $3 to buy and they retail for $6.18 in stores. Schools can decide the sales price per pack for their fundraiser and keep the difference.
Spring Valley’s chocolate drive used to raise $1,500, but they raised $2,400 easily by selling 1,200 packs at $5 each over 6 weeks. Each student was given 12 kits to take home and sell to families and friends, taking the pressure off teachers to push chocolate. There was also a prize for the child who sold all kits first. And the best thing about it is that everyone needs toothbrushes, so getting rid of them has not been challenging!
Principal Clive Bridges has been surprised by its success, commenting that he didn’t think it would be as profitable, let alone raise more money, than the chocolate drive. He said the initiative also has the benefit of hygiene education. They will definitely be doing it next year.
How to get started?
Call to register interest on free call: 1800 891 355 or visit the Colgate Professional website.
TIP: Make sure you choose a fundraising goal, like new equipment. Deciding on an actual goal helps inspire the sellers and makes them feel they are working to achieve something worthwhile.
Congratulations Spring Valley Primary School for making the switch to a fundraising initiative which promotes the health of your school community!
 
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