Make this Sunday a FUNDay with Dad!

Father’s day is upon us and it seems like every year we get our dads a card they may misplace or a gift they’ll never use. This year, why not make it a Father’s Day he’ll never forget (and neither will you)!

Why not put together a fun and simple fundraising event with Dad?

Raising money for charity or putting together an event can seem like daunting tasks but really, they can be easy – especially when a cause inspires you (or Dad!).

We’ve put together a list of fundraising activities you can do with your dad this Father’s Day to raise money for your favorite cause (or at any time during the year):

• Car Wash – Ask dad for help on this one. Post up signs around the neighborhood and raise money for Dad’s favorite charity.

• Bottle Drive – Get dad out of the house and get together for a bottle drive. Make sure to let your community know ahead of time that you and your dad will be going around to collect bottles to donate to a good cause.

• Bike Race – Get the entire family involved for this one! Have everyone sponsor himself or herself and the winner can choose the charity that will receive the winnings!

• Dog Wash – Anyone who owns a dog will love this one. Get together with your Dad and wash your neighbors dogs for a small donation to your non-profit.

• Garage Sale – Finish up some of that Spring Cleaning (you forgot to do). Use the items you think would be “sellers,” break out the lawn chairs and enjoy a nice day outside with dad all while raising money for a good cause

• Yard Work – Grab Dad and go around the neighborhood to see if anyone would like to make a small donation in exchange for your services in cleaning up their yard. Another option is to do yard work for your Dad, and see if he’ll make a small donation in exchange for your time and effort.

Now you need to find a cause that inspires you. If you can’t think of one, we’d love to suggest supporting a local mentoring program for your community. As you know, we launched the 50 State Campaign earlier this year to bring awareness to the significant impact mentoring has to hinder the nearly 30% of students that drop out of high school each year nationwide – and to find a way for every state to bring a mentoring program to its’ communities.

We could use your help to bring online mentoring to students in each state – what better way to do that than to raise money with Dad this Father’s Day?

If you’re looking for another way to give back (or if Dad is), check out what it’s like to be an online mentor at icouldbe.org. It’s flexible and it only takes about an hour of your time each week.

Jerry Steward, Teacher, Mentor, and icouldbe.org’s Senior Program Manager, West Coast

Jerry Steward is a mentor to five students; but that’s really only the beginning of her work with icouldbe.org.

Jerry lives in Sacramento, California, where she taught high school students for thirteen years after a long career in the corporate world.  After retiring from teaching, Jerry joined the staff at icouldbe.org as the Senior Program Manager, West Coast.  She is responsible for all of our programs with the California Partnership Academies that stretch across the entire state.  Over 1,000 students, and their teachers and mentors are guided and managed by Jerry and her experiences as a teacher and mentor provide her with an exceptional background to serve all of her constituents well.

In addition to teaching classes on the topics of business management, international business, computer repair and entrepreneurship, Jerry used the icouldbe.org program in her classroom for years. She worked directly with students who were mentees in the icouldbe.org program, and found that the curriculum fit right in with her business and technology-focused classes.

Jerry has seen students interact with the icouldbe.org program from all different vantage points, and she’s been able to observe firsthand why it really works for students:

• Students can progress at their own pace. “Many students completed their curriculum work at home, even posting on message boards in the evenings. They were able to work at their own pace, and that’s how I could tell they really enjoyed it.”

• California Partnership Academies (CPAs) in low socio-economic areas sometimes see as many as 50% at-risk students. Many times, these students are in need of positive, productive role models in their life – mentors in the icouldbe.org program can fill this role.

• The interaction students have with their mentors teaches them effective ways to communicate. Within the curriculum, filters don’t allow for inappropriate language, and students are able to work on spelling, grammar and a more professional level of communication.

• Once students work with one mentor, Jerry found that “they don’t want to switch to a different mentor. Students will participate in the icouldbe program for three years (sophomore to senior year), and they want that same mentor each time. They form a real relationship with them.”

Today, Jerry is working on recruiting new mentors, and introducing schools to the icouldbe.org program and the benefits it can bring to their students. This year, she’s already helping six to eight new classrooms sign up for the program in California – totaling an additional 275 students on top of the 1,000 students already being served in California!

Do you have any questions about the program for Jerry?  She’d be happy to respond!