We are about to start our third year of “Ice Cream Fridays” which is a great fundraiser without too much hassle.
- We sell ice creams and lollies after school on Friday for the whole of the final half-term.
- We have a freezer that was donated by a parent, which a previous caretaker fixed a skate to the bottom so it wheels really easily, and a combination padlock to stop sticky fingers! For most of the year, it lives in our PTA shed, but we wash it out for the final half-term, and plug it in near the back door of the school. We can then just wheel it out to sell from on Friday afternoon, and plug it back in immediately we’ve finished.
- We have one person in charge of the whole thing, who is responsible for the rota of volunteer sellers and keeping the freezer stocked up.
- We sell to the main school from a trestle table and the freezer, right next to the exit gate so everyone has to walk past us to go home.
- We also have a separate Reception playground/exit, so one or two parents fill a cool box each week with a selection and sell directly to the youngest children.
- We buy the ice creams and lollies from Tesco – their own brand Cornettos, Magnums and rocket lollies are the most popular, but we have a range each week, including mini milks or cheaper lollies too.
- Last year we made a price sign with pictures cut out from the packets to make it easier for children to point to the lolly that they wanted as keeping the queue moving is a top priority!
- Even though parents know that a box of Tesco magnums or cornettos is pretty cheap, we don’t have any complaints about selling them for £1 each – and it’s obviously a really good fundraiser.
- We have kitchen roll, wet wipes and bin bags easily available as someone always drops an ice cream down their front or needs an emergency clean up.
- At the point that the children come out of school, it’s absolute mayhem, and we do have tears if a particular lolly runs out, but I think it’s overall a fun experience.
- We were a bit worried that selling every week might annoy parents, as obviously we are relying on pester power to sell the ice creams, but we haven’t had any negative feedback.
- We advertise the weekly sale through our term programme letter, and then via the Facebook page and school’s weekly email – but once we get going, the children know to look out for the freezer on Fridays.
Briony Harmer
Chair, Princes Risborough Primary School Association
(Princes Risborough Primary School Association are a member of The Stamptastic PTA Rewards Scheme) and received a £30 fundraising voucher for writing this blog post. If you would like to write a blog post for us please join our Stamptastic PTA and Schools Facebook Group to find out more!)
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