Sprouting some fund-raising ideas … students from Crown Street Public School, with chef Kylie Kwong from Billy Kwong's, dress the scarecrow in the school's veggie patch. Photo: Edwina Pickles
WHEN it comes to school fund-raising, the traditional bake sale and the lamington drive just don't go as far as they used to.
The arrival of interactive whiteboards and online teaching tools has forced parents and citizens groups to look for more lucrative ways of raising funds.
Last year, Crown Street Public School released a recipe book, Crown Street Cooks, to raise money for a new playground and interactive smart boards - the latter priced at more than $5000 each.
The book is now in its second print run and has raised more than $150,000 from sales.
The book's project director, Lesley Holden, said parents and citizens groups are considering new ideas to meet rising expectations.
''Fund-raising is harder because of expensive new technology we expect our children to have,'' she said. ''We have to come up with imaginative and inclusive ways to do it.''
Ms Holden admits that the book's success is owed in part to well-known neighbours, chefs Kylie Kwong, of Billy Kwong's, and Alex Herbert, of Bird Cow Fish, who both contributed recipes.
''We're lucky because we live on Crown Street,'' Ms Holden said.
The president of the Federation of Parents and Citizens' Associations of NSW, Helen Walton, said that P&Cs are now investing in big-ticket items.
But Ms Walton also said that when schools have a successful fund-raising year, they feel pressured to match, or exceed, that amount the following year. ''Then schools get depressed about raising that money because they feel they have to,'' she said. ''And of course, they're just raising money to make the life of the child in that school that much easier.''
The chairwoman of the Public Schools Principals' Forum, Cheryl McBride, said that location has much to do with the financial success of a school fund-raiser. ''Some communities make huge efforts and raise reasonable amounts of money,'' she said. ''But obviously more affluent areas where there's more spare cash will raise more.''
Lane Cove West Public School, on Sydney's lower north shore, hosts trivia nights that raise upwards of $50,000 in a single evening. The P&C bought all 37 of the school's smart boards with the profits. The school's principal, Gemma Ackroyd, said that sometimes communities who do contribute to school equipment resent the need to. ''Communities willing to fund-raise also feel that sometimes they are taking on the responsibility of governments [to provide equipment],'' she said.
