School Fundraising Amid a Pandemic by Angelica

School Fundraising Amid a Pandemic by Angelica - May 2021 Scholarship Essay

The biggest academic challenge I've overcome is fundraising during a pandemic. Earlier this school year, I became involved in Student Government at my school. I have participated in clubs and activities before that required fundraising, but fundraising back then was nothing compared to now. Joining a student government group this year really opened my eyes to the profound effects COVID has had on schools. You don't realize how many activities you're missing out on until you try to host them and realize you can't, because it's not safe or permitted. After a few months of troubleshooting, our group came up with a few solutions.

Our first solution was hosting spirit nights at various local restaurants. This was beneficial in many ways. First of all, we were hosting our event at a location with COVID guidelines already implemented, meaning this wasn't an obstacle we had to overcome. Secondly, our school got a portion of proceeds from the restaurant for helping bring them business. And lastly, it helped local business owners, who struggle to find customers because of the pandemic.

Another solution we came up with was hosting how many objects in the jar competitions. We coincided these events with random national holidays, such as national tortilla chip week and jelly bean day. Students paid a dollar to guess how many of the object was in the jar, and whoever guessed closest was awarded the jar. This required a small initial investment, but was recouped quickly as students walked up to our table curiously, because we had a large jar of candy and snacks sitting on it. Our student government group wore gloves and masks, and had one person touch and count the snacks, to avoid the goods from being contaminated.

From this challenge, I've learned the great responsibility that comes with participating in student leadership groups. As difficult as it may be to fundraise during a pandemic, it's necessary for us to do it. Believe it or not, students are still counting on us to raise money for their prom and senior events down the road. Student leaders cannot stop planning ahead for tomorrow because something seems impossible today.

Although this year was unlike any other, with a little creativity we managed to continue fundraising for our group. Adhering to COVID guidelines proved to be more difficult than it seems, but as the saying goes, "modern problems require modern solutions". This challenge has taught me how to be a responsible student leader for my school.