I have to admit that when my kids come home with the usual fundraising materials, I’m generally less than excited. I mean, how many coupon books and tubs of frozen cookie dough does one family need? However, when they showed up last year with an Art to Remember fundraiser, I quickly changed my tune. It was evident that having their artwork reproduced on dozens of items made my kids feel like rock stars. That shot of confidence is something I appreciate as a parent.
What’s more, as an art teacher, I know what a big impact participating in a fundraiser like this can have on a classroom. I’ve only done programs like Donors Choose with my high school students, but it’s very clear to me that Art to Remember can be a great fit for many elementary and middle school programs. For example, my own kids were able to paint on canvas panels and do amazing things with mixed media, clay, and texture tools. Those extra experiences were only possible because their art teacher raised money through Art to Remember.
I love talking shop with other art teachers and my curiosity was killing me—I had to know what running an Art to Remember fundraiser was like. My kids’ teacher said it literally couldn’t be easier. Art to Remember provided paper for the kids to create the work on and pre-printed labels and order forms to make everything run smoothly. He ran the entire thing by himself, no sweat.
As a parent and as an art teacher, Art to Remember strikes a great balance. Families are happy to purchase beautiful, personal keepsakes. At the same time, teachers are able to supplement their budgets to run the best art programs they can.
Kelly, the Marketing Director for Art to Remember, told me that providing art teachers with those opportunities is one of the most important things they do. She said, “Our goal is to raise more money for art education while helping to raise awareness for the needs of art programs in schools.” This is a goal every art teacher can appreciate.
If you want to learn more about Art to Remember, make sure you check out their amazing presentation at this summer’s Now Conference. Nic Hahn will show you how easy it is to do an Art to Remember fundraiser while demonstrating a beautiful lesson called Primary Petals. Make sure you grab the Playcolor Sticks out of your Swag Box and create along with her!
Have you used Art to Remember to fundraise for your classroom? What was your experience like?
Do you have any tips for teachers doing Art to Remember for the first time?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.