Cents in Action - Waves on Waves
Cents in Action: Guest blog post by Crystal Kawai (Kealakehe Elementary School - Kailua-Kona, HI)
Crystal was able to raise over $500 in a short amount of time with various causes on PledgeCents! We want to highlight her experience on PledgeCents with her raw feedback in the form of a guest post.
1. How long have you been a teacher, and what is your favorite teaching moment from your career so far?
This is now my 9th year being a teacher, and I have had so many amazing moments in my career! One that stands out is when I ran into a 3rd grade student that I had for Kindergarten and first grade. When I first had him he spoke no English and cried every day at school and through the course of two years he began to talk and come out of his shell. When I saw him that day, he had the biggest smile on his face and he said, “I can now read chapter books!” I was so proud in that moment, and knew that I had made a difference.
2. How much of your own money do you think you have put toward your classroom and students in any given year, and what have you spent it on?
That is a hard question! I really have no idea how much money I have spent any given year. I would say a lot of what I spend money on is for food for special days. We make apple sauce for Johnny Appleseed Day. One year we made Indian food for Diwali. I also like to buy snacks just to have in class because I know the kids get hungry. Other things that I buy are different things for projects that I wouldn’t already have at school. Why, just today I bought rice so that we can make rain sticks in class tomorrow!
3. With so many fundraising options out there, why did you choose to work with the PledgeCents team?
I chose to work with PledgeCents because I like that fact that I get whatever money I have fundraised, even if it falls short of my goal. In the past when I have tried to fundraise for projects or materials for my classroom, if the entire amount wasn’t raised, then I didn’t any of the materials that I needed. It was an all or nothing. This is so much better!
4. What did you personally do to market your cause? What worked? What didn’t work?
I posted my cause on Facebook, which my brother saw and donated towards. He then mentioned my cause on a gamer online videocast that he is a part of. After he mentioned my cause on his show my cause was fully funded within an hour!
5. How was your experience with PledgeCents? What did you like? Not like?
When I first started PledgeCents I thought that the check would be made out to me personally. The site kept saying that the funds would be sent to me. When I got the check for the first cause that I did I realized that the check was made out to the school. This created some difficulties on actually being able to spend the money on what I needed since all school monies have to be spent with a purchase order.
6. What would be your advice to another teacher who is considering using PledgeCents?
PledgeCents is great for fundraising for field trips! Instead of collecting money from each of my students and then having to turn it into the office on a daily basis, I was able to turn into the office clerk one check! She loved it!
7. What is the best thing about being an educator, and where do you find your inspiration?
The best part about being an educator is that I get to spend my entire day with kids. They are funny! I teach Kindergarten and first grade and the things they have to say are hilarious. When it comes to inspiration, I look to other teachers. I always want to improve what I am doing and be at my best. I love learning from other teachers and gleaning from their own experiences.
*Crystal was not compensated for this post.
