Meet the Bullock family. The little lady in the middle is Jorie, and she’s only three years old.
She’s a new student at Toddler Preschool University, a neighborhood preschool in Maryland. Like most kids her age, she’s excited about learning, so when the school’s director asked the parents to help raise money for the school, she and her parents accepted the challenge.
Toddler Preschool University wanted to evolve their home-based preschool into the perfect learning environment. To do that, they needed new desks, all sorts of arts and crafts supplies, and several new iPads for the classroom, as well as a renovation for the playground area.
That’s an ambitious and awesome upgrade list. But how much money could they raise with a total enrollment of less than twenty students who haven’t yet learned to read? It turns out, quite a lot.
Toddler Preschool University turned the fundraiser into a competition — and these families happen to be pretty competitive. Jorie’s mom Shardae crafted her pitch as “Jorie’s First Fundraiser” and reached out to friends, family, and co-workers.
They were blown away by the success. “We had a great time doing it,” Shardae said. “It was so fun and so competitive!”
Team Jorie sold about $1,400, with 50% going back to the school for their list of improvements. The Bullock family fell just short of winning the contest — finishing second behind one of her classmates — but that doesn’t really matter. The important thing is what that money can do to improve the school and the experience for the kids.
Jorie is already planning another fundraiser to finance her first business venture. She plans to launch her own line of edible nail polish for little girls.
Got your own dream? We got you.