Our Elementary School officially kicked off our Read-A-Thon fundraiser today with our first ever Character Parade. As I shared Read-A-Thon details in my post here, I thought you might appreciate an update.
The Character Parade was a huge success! Thanks to a continuous flow of flyers in backpacks, messages from the principal/teachers on our school app (ParentSquare) and social media posts, we had a great turnout.
We filled the entire sidewalk of the school with parents, grandparents and neighbors to cheer on the students as they walked in the parade.
It was magical to see the littles in their costumes, dressed up as their favorite book characters. And most brought the book that inspired the look, so the parade goers would recognize the costumes.
The best part was that the set-up was minimal, the teacher involvement was easy and it was a great method to get parents involved and excited about our Read-A-Thon fundraiser!
SET-UP.
We made a “homemade” looking sign for the beginning and end of the parade walkers to hold that welcomed everyone to the event and thanked them for their support of our Read-A-Thon.
We also made a “homemade” banner announcing the character parade, with a couple balloons to make it look a little fancier.
The only other DIY piece was a box where we could collect any Read-A-Thon donations received at the parade.
COSTUMES.
As our school is made up of a diverse population, we provided face masks for any kids that didn’t wear a costume. These masks were purchased on Amazon and tied into famous children’s books, so all kids felt included in the event.
Our teachers are wonderful, and brought their a-game with their own character costumes. Miss Frizzle was my favorite, but a huge shout out is needed for the first grade teachers that went as different foods/characters from the very hungry caterpillar!
THE VIBE.
We set up speakers and played a kidz bop playlist to keep the music appropriate for the setting.
A couple boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to keep the parade watchers’ energy high, and pom poms to help cheer the participants on, and we were off and running.
THE LOW DOWN.
Our Read-A-Thon just started and we are already almost halfway to our donation goal! The whole school seems excited about the fundraising switch up, and the Character Parade was a great way to start us off strong.
I will keep you posted on how things progress in a future post. Until then, I definitely encourage you to think about a Read-A-Thon and Character Parade for your future elementary school fundraising needs!
