Bounce-a-thon

Sometimes you just want to organise a quick and easy fundraiser without too much fuss that will give your bank account a boost. A-thons are very handy for this, and are very often straight forward and easy to run, especially if you’re using an external supplier

There’s a whole lot of ‘a-thons’ to choose from these days, but here’s one that you won’t need an outside supplier to organise for you and one you may not have thought of – a Bounce-a-thon!

The idea is really simple. You hire (or have donated) a couple of jumping castles and each student is sponsored per jump based on how many jumps they can do in one minute.

Logistics

• You will only need enough room for 2-3 jumping castles (depending on the number of students, the time you have allocated and space available).
• This could be your oval or hall. The hall (if it’s big enough) is a great wet weather option too.
• You’ll need to have enough volunteers to count for each student. This will depend on the number of students allowed at a time per jumping castle and the number of jumping castles required. Teachers and/or teacher aides might be able to help.
• Keep in mind that it’s very likely that not every student will be sponsored, so you’ll only need counters for those that are.
• Make a class timetable so that teachers know what their allocated time is. This will keep things running on time.
• This can run as a stand alone event or may be able to be incorporated into a sports day as its own sports event.
• Whether you’re running it as a stand alone event of piggy backing onto your sports day, don’t forget about the option of add-on fundraisers such as a sausage sizzle, bake stall or even selling icy poles or ice blocks to increase profits.
• Arrange with your jumping castle supplier a suitable time for delivery and set up on the day.
• Make sure you have a stopwatch!

What’s next?

Once you have settled on a date for your Bounce-a-thon, put together a sponsorship form that students can take home and get family and friends to fill out. You’ll need the student’s name and class, sponsors name and contact number, sponsored amount per bounce, sponsors signature and room for your volunteers to write the number of successful bounces completed in the minute. Send this home a couple of weeks out from the event and ask for it to be returned no later than the day before.

It’s probably a good idea to include a permission slip or waiver at the bottom that parents can sign to show that they agree to their child taking part in the activity.

On the day

• Make sure that your sponsorship forms are bundled into class groups and allocated times.
• Students not participating in the sponsored bounce can sit to the side and cheer their classmates on.
• When each class has completed their one minute bounce-a-thon, set the timer for another two or three minutes for a free bounce for everyone (including those who didn’t participate in the sponsored bounce) so that no one misses out on the fun.
• Volunteers record each child’s number of bounces on their sponsorship form and the forms are returned to the class teacher to go home and collect money.

Afterward

• Allow about 2 weeks for sponsorship monies to be returned. If you have an online payment option this can potentially speed up the collection process.
• Make an announcement on assembly and in your school newsletter to let your community know how much you raised and what the money will be used for.
• If you want to have rewards for the most money raised for each grade level (or class), present these at the same assembly.

And there you have it! An easy to organise earner without a huge amount of effort required. You’re welcome 🙂