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`The Bible states eight times, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Surely Haiti is not our next-door neighbor, but this has not stopped Millersville University from supporting Haitians in their time of need.
There has been a Haiti Response on the school’s website, the MU Haiti Relief Project, and donation efforts within the residence halls, all of which were made aware to the campus. But the campus does not know if a fundraiser for the Haiti Relief headed entirely by students.
“The History of the World to 1500″ 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. classes, over the course of six weeks, made $1,500 from bake sales and selling Haiti bracelets. The idea of a fundraiser started two months ago.
On the first day of the semester, the professor who thought of this service project idea and presented it to both classes. Instead of a simple fundraiser, the service project was laid out as a competition between the two classes. Whichever class raised the most money would not have to take the midterm exam. The professor suggested that each class pick leaders of the fundraising efforts. The 10 a.m. class chose Mark Costello and Heather Kuhn while the 11 a.m. class had Megan Eline, Jenn Schwartz, and Katie Bursan to lead the efforts.
The fundraiser did not start immediately. In the first month, the leaders discussed plans with their class. Then the leaders planned carefully, and gained permission from the administration. Some were new to leadership and for others it was a normal position to be placed in. Costello said, “It was a pain in the butt going through all the channels to get the permissions to do everything.” Kuhn added, “We had to get permission to sit in the building.” Other than the permissions, Costello found the leadership position a fun and worthwhile experience, “it was quite fun at the same time too. It gave me something to do, work towards” he said.
For Eline, the leadership position came natural. “I tend to take leadership positions and working with my friends Jenn and Katie certainly made it easier,” she said “It helped that I am already involved in campus because I knew how to sign up for tables and the procedures for reserving spaces and selling.” Coincidentally,
both classes used the same methods for their fundraising efforts. They made a sign-up sheet and then their classmates signed up for time slots, whether it was sitting at tables, baking goods, or fundraising on their own. Both leaders also had to get everyone in their class involved, no matter how small or big their participation was. When the planning was complete both classes had the same events planned to raise money: bake sales and selling Haiti bracelets.
“When we began fundraising, we never expected to make as much money as we did. We were hoping for $200 or so, not knowing we would make so much more,” Eline said. The Haiti bracelets sold for $1 each while the bake sales ranged from $.50 to $1 None of the students imagined they could make so much with the
prices so low. “Fifty cents, 75 cents, but in the end, out of three hours, we made 70, 80 bucks,” Kuhn said.
Most of the people who stopped by the tables did not even purchase an item. “It was also the generous people who bought the bake goods and bracelets. Many times people did not even want the item, they only wanted to donate,” Eline said. “Over the past 6 weeks of fundraising, we have all seen how generous people can really be.”
“The prize of not taking the mid- term was what drove most of the class to fundraise, but when we all saw how much money we could really make, the prize seemed to matter less and less. We were all
working together to help the people of Haiti, and that was the real prize,” Kline said.
When the fundraiser ended March 3, the 10 a.m. class made $900 and the 11 a.m. class made $600. Although the 10 a.m. class won the competition, the amount raised altogether stunned both the professor and students. “There weren’t any winners or losers. Everyone wins, so everyone has the option [to take the mid-term exam],” Castello said.