our fundraising project: update!

A couple of weeks ago, Ella and Liam started a new project. A fundraising project, raising money for PWS research. You can read all about it in my initial blog post. We are now 10 days away from the walk, One Small Step for Prader-Willi Syndrome, and I'd like to update you on their progress.

As soon as we set up the donation website, blogged all about it, and shared it on facebook, the donations started pouring in! Within just a few days, they were already half way to their goal of $800, which I had initially thought was quite a lofty goal. They sure showed me!

The kids' uncle showed up with a truck full of empty bottles and cans. Their Grandpa brought over an extremely heavy bag of rolled coins. Relatives and friends from all across Canada donated money through the website. I couldn't believe the generosity!

Ella & Liam composed an email to all their family and friends to tell them about PWS, the walk, and how to donate. And even more donations came in! Their Great Aunt & Uncle brought over bottles and cans that they had been hoarding in the garage all year. Their Auntie gave them money to put in the donation can they made. Friends brought cash. And even more relatives and friends donated through the website.

So proud of their sorting job!

By this point, our garage was starting to look like a recycling centre, so we sorted the bottles and cans into bags, and took a trip to the bottle depot. Our entire van was filled; there was barely enough room for the kids to sit. At the depot, it was hot and smelly, and the three of us were in there for much longer than I would have liked, but Ella and Liam loved it. They sorted and counted like pros. They watched the guys working at the back and figured out where they were putting all the different items. They talked to everyone. They asked questions. They guessed how much money we would make. And in the end, they learned the value of hard work when they were rewarded with $59.85. I have never earned more than $12 at the bottle depot, so I was pretty impressed! They took the money home and added it to the can right away.

You're probably wondering what the grand total is, right? Well, I am proud to announce that over the past two weeks, my 3- and 5-year-old kids have raised about $600. With 10 days to go, they are only $200 away from their goal. I honestly can't believe it! The generosity of our family and friends has been amazing. We appreciate every single cent that you all have donated! And I know that Ellie and her family appreciate it, too.

On top of the obvious benefit of raising money for a worthy cause, I am so excited for all that my kids are learning, too. By doing all the different activities associated with this fundraising campaign, they have worked on the following skills: counting, sorting, writing, speaking, researching, counting money, planning, goal setting, progress tracking, empathy, fundraising, project management, and so much more. This campaign has been such a valuable real-world learning experience for them. As John Holt says, children learn more from doing actual, serious, meaningful work, than from doing activities thought up by adults to try and teach them about real work. Instead of reading a book about fundraising and then doing a worksheet, my kids have had the opportunity to actually fundraise. And in doing this serious, meaningful work, they have also learned all those things that they may have learned sitting in math class, or language arts, or whatever you want to classify it as. But they have had fun. And they have learned these things in the real world.

Since there are still 10 days left in the campaign, if you'd like to be a part of it, feel free to donate through our website, or contact me if you'd like to donate any change or bottles and cans. Thank you for your support!