December 1, 2022 – Students at Sweet's Corners Elementary School have become active citizens by planning and hosting a real-world and community-based spaghetti dinner fundraiser for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
On Nov. 24, over 100 guests brought their appetites and wallets to aid a noble cause. Put together by the Grade 5/6 class, the spaghetti dinner was in support of garnering donations and awareness for ALS supports and research. The evening event would bring in a staggering $710 in donations, which will be donated to ALS Canada.
The class of 24 students put in over a month of planning for the community-based event. From financial literacy to writing, and interpersonal skills, students ventured through the various cross-curricular activities that encompass social studies, health, science, language, and math.
“There were a lot of different learning components for students in this initiative. One of them is simply organization. The organizational skills that must be developed in the planning phase are crucial for any event. Children attend events like these, but don’t usually know what it takes to get to that point, so that was a bit of an eye-opener for students,” says Grade 5/6 teacher Cathy Desloges. “Writing skills were another big component. Students learned how to write sponsorship letters for local businesses, write and research ALS, and develop thank-you notes for the businesses and adult volunteers. Students also tangibly learned about financial literacy. From understanding what a float is to how to make change and understanding expenses versus income and profit.”
Desloges adds that students learned about marketing and how to get people to attend an event and where to promote it. The class produced ideas that included making posters, morning announcements, and social media posts to not only spark interest in the event, but to also raise awareness about ALS. Along with putting the materials in high-traffic vs. low-traffic areas. There was also the development of interpersonal skills. “Students also learned how to work together and respect each other. Plus, how to interact with attendees and the importance of customer service,” says Desloges.
Students brainstormed additional ways to increase donations at the event itself as well. Karaoke and candy guessing stations were just two of the options. The learning also included oral communication and public speaking skills, as students presented their research on ALS to dinner attendees.
“It was fun learning about financial literacy and how to host a fundraising event,” says Peyton Gallimore, who also learned a lot about ALS. “My favourite part was making our ALS presentation and sharing it with guests at the fundraiser. I also learned that I was able to speak in front of a large group of people.”
Problem-solving was another skill that students worked on. For example, students had originally planned to have salad on the menu, but with the inflated cost of lettuce, students strategically switched to veggies to keep the same margin of profit.
“Students came together as a classroom community. They were all motivated and engaged on a common goal and I know this will be a lasting memory for them, and hopefully encourage them to be committed caring, responsible citizens, as they grow older,” says Lyndsay Pilling, Principal of Sweet’s Corners Elementary School.