Why I Am Prout to be Canadian essay contest
| First Name | Cheryl |
| Last Name | Brydges |
| londonbrydges@yahoo.ca | |
| Club Name | Kinette Club of London |
| District # | 1 |
| Number of Members | 11-25 |
| Community Size | Large community or metropolis (100,000+) |
| Community Type | Urban |
| Project Name | Why I Am Prout to be Canadian essay contest |
| Type of Project (check all that apply) | Other |
| If other, please describe | encourage grade 5 & 6 students and their families to share their Canadian pride, education who Kinette Club of London is |
| Was this project a fundraiser? | No |
| Description of project | -hosted for 16 years, so little set up time; a matter of emails sent to past sponsors -to start -wait for essays to arrive by deadline: Feb. 15th -at least 3 people judge these to determine one winner per grade -contact school(s) and sponsors to arrange a presentation date -take pictures, print winning essays in local paper July 1st issue -send out thank you's with pictures from presentation day. -sponsors include MP, MPP, local mayors, local basketball and 5-pin bowling companies, London Celebrates Canada committee, local news papers -note these sponsor and schools watch for the start of this contest and integrate it into their schedules -community benefits include learning how our children perceive our country, becoming award of Canadian facts current and historically, witness the communication skills and development of students, come out and support/encourage these students to continue to develop their ideas and practices, Raise a Canadian flag for the summer(at least), awareness of some of the community work Kin clubs do. |
| Service Hours | 21-50 |
| Did you leverage this project as a way to recruit new members? | Yes |
| If you answered yes to the question above, please explain: | -when explaining why the Kinette club hosts this contest we include current and past projects and that we are always looking for volunteers, (our well know large project opens a few doors) -always mention Founder Hal's love of education and Kin Canada is family oreinted |
| How was this project promoted in your community? | - local papers have community service areas that are free- articles submitted -club circulates a flyer in the fall to elementary schools: one of the 4 projects listed |
| What were some challenges you faced with this project, and how could your project be improved? | -keeping current on the media forms of communicating with public -students may enter on their own -teachers do not have to devote time to this if they prefer -enforming applicants that submissions may be emailed or mailed in-postage costs of class set of submissions deters many -essay may be written any time before deadline I.E. Sept to Feb. Not just in Jan. to Feb. time frame- continue to stess this point in all communiications -share what recognition the winners' receive on presentation dates -encourage next essay committee to start school contacts early in the fall - this allows the teachers to fit the essays into their existing curriculum. Which this essay already fits into. |
| What was the approximate budget for this project? | Less than $1,000 |
| If the project was a fundraiser, what were the sources of revenue for this project? | |
| If this was a fundraiser, how much money was raised (minus expenses)? | Not Applicable |
| What were the expenses for this project? | -club budgets $25. usually spends 1/2 on presentation day snacks. -donations through sponsors estimated $336 (retail?) Include game tickets, Canadian and Ontario and Municipal pins, various flags, maps, bonded certificates, t-shirts, food. To name a few items donated. - usually 20 hours of club time with the use of email communications. This year requried addtional judging time. |
| Is there anything else you would like to share that would assist another club in duplicating this project in their community? | Take time to explain Kin Canada's motto and what your club does locally. As mentioned this project will run itself after it is established. The teachers do look forward to it. The topic fits in with the "government unit" and is an excellent avenue to expand communication skills. Avoid hosting this during the Provincial school testng in May. This contest shows grade 5 & 6 students that their veiws matter. They count. Keep presentation time close to 1 hour, to use dignataries time wisely. When approaching "Canada" based sponsors you may find they too are eager to join in. It is a fun way to encourage families to Raise the Flag, Canada's of course. |