How one alumni earned big with a crafty fundraiser!
In the summer of 2019, I attended the Ambassador Leadership Summit at Harvard after being nominated by my 6th grade English teacher three years prior. My family and I decided that I should attend the Summit right before my Freshman year. For me, it was the best time to get the most out of the experience.
While I was at the Summit, I made friends with great kids from all over. We clicked instantly, and it was one of the best weeks of my life. I truly had a blast! At the same time, I gained many new leadership skills. I learned to think things through: to plan, research, collect information and then make a decision. I also learned to listen to what others have to say.
Before I could attend the Summit, I had to raise funds to get there. My mom has made dehydrated apples in the past, and over the years of sharing them with friends and family, their popularity grew so much that people offered to buy them.
This gave me the idea to sell bags of dehydrated apples as a fundraiser. This past year the trees on my parents’ land produced an abundance of apples, and when Ambassador Leaders suggested fundraising to cover the Summit tuition, this was a natural fit. I wanted to offer people something for their donations, but I knew purchasing fundraising items would eat into my profit. By selling homemade items, I kept my profits as high as possible.
My mom and I decided to sell cinnamon sugar apple chips and other homemade products at a local craft fair. Preparing for the fair required a lot of time because we made everything ourselves. We ended up paying $40 to enter the craft fair and made around $800 in sales. During the craft fair, we handed out cards for people to place orders at a later date. These order cards allowed me to earn an additional $600!
Along the way, I learned some handy skills like making applesauce, salsa and apple chips. That’s why my advice to the next class of Ambassador Leaders is to be creative with your fundraising approach. We all have something that can help us get to our goals. Use the resources you have at hand, and make sure your story is part of your sales pitch! People bought my items over others at the craft fair because I had a story to go along with mine. People wanted to help me attend the Summit, and people will want to help you too!
Are you a superstar fundraiser? Email your ideas to info@ambassadorleaders.com. You could be featured in our Toolkit!
By Cameron Werner
Cameron is an alum of the 2019 Ambassador Leadership Summit at Harvard. He plays volleyball and basketball for his high school and is currently pursuing his school’s Engineering Pathway.