Thinking Outside the Lunchbox
The student council at Cimarron-Memorial High School in Las Vegas wanted to help kids who were staying at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. They decided to make unique craft kits inside metal lunchboxes. Everyone chose a different theme and filled a box with fun crafts, games, and other items to keep the children busy and creatively engaged. Thirty lunchbox kits were made and delivered to the hospital over spring break.
Unbleach Those Bleachers
In Tokyo, the student council at The American School in Japan devised a colorful way to combine fundraising with spirit. For about $2, students were allowed to purchase a spot on the bleachers and paint it on a designated Saturday. The entire bleacher board could be purchased by clubs, departments, or teams. Student council members raised additional funds by grilling hot dogs and selling food while the painting took place.
“The students and teachers took great pride in making their spot attractive, as well as representing who they were. It was a schoolwide activity that built up our community spirit,” says Julie Rogers, student council adviser.
Color the Rainbow Color Run
To raise funds for the Parkinson’s Foundation, the NHS chapter at Colts Neck High School in New Jersey teamed up with the school’s NJROTC and Free the Children clubs to create a Color the Rainbow Color Run for the community. Entry fees were $15 for children and $25 for adults. The clubs managed to raise thousands of dollars for the cause!
Adopt-a-Dolphin
Student council members at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, VA, developed an Adopt-a-Dolphin project that brought together clubs and organizations to create decorated dolphins that welcomed attendees to that year’s National Student Council Conference. Modeled after the Cows on Parade in New York and Chicago, the NatStuCo decorations committee worked with students in the vocational tech program to cut out 66 plywood dolphins, each about 5 feet in length. The committee then invited Ocean Lakes’ clubs and organizations to adopt a dolphin and “texturize” it in some way by adding a weatherproof material that would make it more three-dimensional. Once decorated, the dolphins were transported by bus to the district’s central plant to be painted in navy blue, light blue, or silver to coordinate with the conference colors. The finished dolphins were attached to pipe stands and placed along the school’s entrance to welcome visitors to the conference.
Spirit Couch
Each week, students at Covington High School in Louisiana are encouraged to submit their names for a Spirit Couch drawing that is held at the Friday pep rally. The person whose name is drawn gets to choose three guests to join him or her that evening on the Spirit Couch, which is set up on the sideline of the football field. The winner and guests are treated to pizza, snacks, and soft drinks and can watch the game from this prized position. They are also provided with various spirit items, such as a game cup, spirit ribbon, pom-poms, and noisemakers.
Beach Cleanup
An NHS chapter at American International School in Chennai, India, is lucky enough to live in a location with expansive beaches. However, those beaches are not very well maintained—litter is common, and glass can sometimes be found in the sand, posing a danger to beachgoers. To promote cleanliness and awareness, members chose a stretch of beach to clean. A group of approximately 12 students volunteered, despite the heat and harsh conditions. Signs were also set up around the beach to indicate that waste should be thrown in trash cans to help people become more aware of their surroundings.
Destination: Hawaii
At Washington High School in Missouri, the student council decided that the entire faculty needed a vacation—to Hawaii. Without the money to actually send them there, the students came up with the next best thing: They brought Hawaii to the school. One afternoon, council members decorated the teachers’ lounge with netting, pineapples, flowers, and fresh fruit. Students collected leis and used airplane ticket folders from a local travel agency to create mock airline tickets with a departure time of 7:30 a.m. the next morning, and then slid them in the teachers’ mailboxes. With Hawaiian music playing for added ambiance, the teachers walked into a place that no longer looked like the dreary lounge, but a tropical luau!
Leaving Our Tracks Behind
The NJHS students at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Cheektowaga, NY, hosted a racing competition called “Leaving Our Tracks Behind” to raise money for Camp Good Days. To compete, a student and teacher paired up to race through an obstacle course in a wheelchair for the fastest time. The whole middle school was invited to watch in the high school gym. The cost was $5 per person (both student and teacher) to race. In addition, the audience could pay $1 to throw two soft dodgeballs at the racers. Throughout the previous week, NJHS promoted awareness of disabilities, explaining what Camp Good Days provides, while publicizing the race during morning announcements.