[Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Casey Kraft and Monica Townsend, of the University of Notre Dame, who hosted a holiday information session during Finals Week to get their classmates excited about fundraising for She's the First in the Spring 2011 semester...girls and guys got involved, and all had a blast! This activity follows a tie-dyed cupcake fundraiser held on campus by sophomores Lindsay Brown and Maggie Fox, for girls' in Nepal. Casey and Monica are leading efforts to sponsor a girl in India in 2011 with the junior class.]
Casey (right) and friend, at the She's the First info desk.
Buddy the Elf might claim that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear, but spreading awareness for girls’ education has to be a close second.
The Philanthropy Committee of the Junior Class Council at the University of Notre Dame combined both activities in their Charity Christmas Extravaganza last week. The event featured live music, a showing of Elf and gingerbread-house making as a stress-reliever leading up to finals week. A She’s the First information desk prominently displayed in the middle of the student center reminded finals-crazy students of how lucky they are to have an education and explained how to give back through sponsorship at one of the STF partner schools.
Optional donations (adding up to $56) were collected at the event as part of the Philanthropy Committee’s goal to integrate STF into several activities throughout the year with the ultimate goal of a junior class sponsorship in 2011. Molly Kiernan, vice president of the committee, gave this reflection on the event:
Making gingerbread houses helped the students bond -- and relieve finals stress! -- so they could work together next semester on fundraisers for a girl's sponsorship in India.
“The Junior Class Council at Notre Dame was really excited about working with She’s The First…Its connection to college campuses and the enthusiastic staff of young adults makes it the perfect organization for college students to get excited about. Also, now more than ever, Notre Dame students are recognizing the importance of education, and that not everyone is lucky enough to have the opportunities that we have. We thought that the Christmas Party, with its casual and friendly setting, would be a great way to introduce She’s the First to the Notre Dame community… This was just the beginning; we’re definitely ready to work with She’s the First more in the future.”
What better time than the holiday season to encourage others to give back?
She’s the First*{Notre Dame} expects to be official in the Spring semester! To bring She’s the First to your campus, apply here.
