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Plans set to expand
fundraising
Friday, April
30, 2004 - John Driscoll
With the Rhema Christian School board
decision to increase enrolment and
the physical size of the school, the
fundraising committee needs to “hit
the ground running” in September,
says committee member Allan Hill.
Rhema is adding at least two portable
classrooms in September and a modest
tuition fee increase and increased
enrolment will not cover all of the
costs of expansion, Allan explains.
“We have made a commitment
to raise the difference through fundraising
and we have a plan in place,”
he says.
If Rhema had raised tuition fees
to cover increased costs, it would
have defeated the purpose of the school,
Allan explains. Rhema is committed
to promoting the development of a
Christ-centred world view in students
and “to ensuring as many people
as possible are provided with the
opportunity to experience the educational
alternative that Rhema presents,”
according to the school’s mission
statement.
“We do not want to be seen
as elitist,” Allan says. “In
our school community, we have every
walk of life represented in terms
of income. We only ask that people
bring their abilities and a willingness
to work.”
The fundraising plan includes increasing
totals raised at the two most successful
fundraisers, the fall walkathon and
the dinner-auction.
“We want to look at these things
with new eyes and maximize all the
hard work already done,” Allan
says. “It is mostly a matter
of fine-tuning.” As great a
success as the auction was this year
with about $22,000 raised compared
to $14,000 last year, the goal for
next year is $25,000, he says.
Fundraising efforts will also reach
out more to the general community,
Allan says. "We can’t just
reach out to the existing school community."
Rhema will mark its 25th anniversary
with a golf tournament in May and
plans are to turn that tournament
into a fundraiser for next year, Allan
says.
There will be a letter campaign to
the larger supporting community and
increased emphasis on the successful
SCRIP fundraising program where the
school sells coupons good for discounts
at grocery stores, restaurants and
a variety of retail stores. There
are also a number of smaller fundraising
efforts during the year that help
to bring the school community together
as well as raise needed funds, from
such events as car washes and garage
sales, Allan says.
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