Friends-raising
I hate fundraising. First of all, I’m not good at it. Secondly, I’m sick and tired of doing it year in and year out. In an ideal world, the members of a community would simply meet together and determine what their group or cause needs. They would then freely contribute their own funds and services based on their own capabilities. That’s what I’d call “stress-free” fundraising. No more need to sell one million servings of taho or dirty ice cream. No more need to chase your relatives inside their houses or accost strangers on the street and try to sell them a raffle or movie ticket. No more need to beg, steal, or borrow. If you believe in something and your kids are happy, just bite the bullet and open your wallet. Pass the hat to each other until you reach the target. And if for some reason you fall short, at least you would then have the high moral ground to go out there and sell banana-cue to others at triple the price. Makes sense, right? Unfortunately, if there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way, it’s that many folks would rather spend three months worth of weekends, get on each other’s nerves, and ask their kids to jump through hoops, just to raise a few measly thousand pesos of other people’s money. As jaded as it may sound, I have come to the conclusion that shelling out one’s own money is the ultimate measure of a person’s commitment and that many of us would rather try to contribute other people’s money instead. So if you’re a parent or teacher (or even a fundraising suki of any one of them), it’s alright to admit it. If it makes it easier for you to confess and say it, you can pretend that I’m Oprah: I hate fundraising!
Once in a while, however, a great fundraising idea comes along that energizes and brings out the best in everyone involved. I was fortunate in that I was able to witness one such event last November 10 in the “Alay Sining sa Manila Waldorf School.” Approximately 30 members and friends of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) spent an entire day at the school’s campus in Timberland Heights to paint whatever caught their fancy. Amidst the township’s rolling hills, forested valleys, and breathtaking scenery, there was a lot of material to draw inspiration from. It was such a win-win event. The artists were happy to help out and be able to do on-the-spot painting in such a beautiful location as Timberland Heights. In return, they pledged to donate all the paintings that they did that day to the school. Art and Music, which are often considered “frills” at mainstream schools, are central at Waldorf schools. In the younger grades, all subjects are introduced through artistic mediums because the children respond better to this medium than to dry lecturing and rote learning. As the students observed the artists practice their craft, it was gratifying to see how both of them easily mingled with each other. The kids also prepared a special welcome program for the painters, sang songs, and performed musical numbers for them. The students of one class even made individual thank-you cards for the generous artists.
Apart from the positive experience that both the students and artists were able to draw from the event, an important learning for me is how fundraising should not really be about the money. As Dr. Paul Plinske of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrote, “The goal is not to raise funds, but to develop the program, provide vision and leadership, and create friends of the program.” Or as one local fundraising expert told me, it’s really more about “friends-raising” rather than “fund-raising.” Experts caution, however, that the friendship created has to be legitimate and must not be dependent on financial prospects. The relationship should therefore be a sustainable one and based on genuine care and concern for each other. Once you have that kind of connection, people will then do for you what friends normally do for one another all the time: help each other out the best way they can. And even if they don’t have a lot of pesos to burn, at least they won’t abandon you when you’re trying to sell all those one million servings of taho, banana-cue, and dirty ice cream!
The Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) is one of the oldest national artist organizations in the country. It was founded in 1948 by a group of artists headed by Ms. Purita Kalaw-Ledesma. The AAP aims for the development of a distinctly Philippine Art based on our cultural diversity but also allied with the newfound lessons of contemporary art from abroad. Today, the AAP, led by its current president, Fidel Sarmiento, gathers the active involvement and participation of a wide spectrum of artists from different media and persuasions of different levels of maturity under one main effort to pursue the higher developmental and progressive needs of the artistic community. The organization remains steadfast in its goals to better the lives of the Filipino artist, giving free art training to young students, managing exhibitions locally and abroad, facilitating art competitions, and holding art forums for the continued art education of AAP members.
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Please e-mail your reactions to kindergartendad@yahoo.com.
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Families are invited to join the annual Advent Fair, which will be on Saturday, Nov. 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Acacia Waldorf School, Hacienda Sta. Elena, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Lined up is a day of wholesome food, crafts and fun activities that include gift and ornament making, Advent wreath decorating, live music, farm rides, and other surprises for the whole family. Entrance donation is P50.
For more information, contact 09175540435; e-mail admin@acaciawaldorfschool.com; visit www.acaciawaldorfschool.com.
