Community Engagement
Accessibility & Fundraising
Creating events for the Stuyvesant Community means creating events for the entire Stuyvesant community, not just the select few that can afford tickets. Our Ticket-Aid system, as well as our in-depth fundraising plan, will allow us to increase the funding and accessibility of our events.
Not only do we have an in-depth array of fundraising events planned out, but every single community building or fun event that we plan has fundraising opportunities built into it. We plan to maximize our profits, and therefore maximize accessibility and budget for events.
Fundraising Events
The Coffee Bar
We Stuy students are infamous for our lack of sleep and caffeine addictions. The Coffee Bar, a station on the 2nd floor where students would be able to buy coffee for extremely low prices would provide an affordable and convenient source of energy for students, while bringing in profit to support the Freshman caucus.
Freshman Fundraiser Contest
A fundraiser in which students compete against one another in teams creates a bonding opportunity for students, while simultaneously efficiently bringing in profit. Students would form teams of 5-10 students, and would each create their own fundraising opportunities, whether simply asking those around them for donations, or for organizing their own sales. The team that raises the most money will be awarded or given a prize. This encourages the student body as a whole to engage in and support their school community. Eight-hundred students fundraising is much more efficient than the student caucus fundraising alone.
Cafeteria Snackbar
Cafeteria food isn’t the most popular lunch choice amongst Stuy students; however, ordering out everyday becomes expensive, and many students simply prefer staying within the Stuy building during their frees. If we were to order snacks in bulk and sell them at a low price, similar to the coffee bar, students would be able to save money, and student caucus would be able to profit.
Community Building Events
Red Carpet Night
Freshman caucus can only organize one dance per year, so we aim to make the dance as incredibly fun as possible. Some possible themes are:
-
Red Carpet Night: We would hire event paparazzis, order red carpets, and use our resources so students feel as though they're truly walking a red carpet. Fundraising opportunity: Charging for photos taken by the hired paparazzi company.
-
Once Upon a Time: A fairy-tale themed dance would open opportunities to set up a beautiful and magical-feeling event space. Fundraising opportunity: We can set up a fairy-themed, beautiful, photo opportunity, and charge low prices to take pictures.
Monthly Friday Picnics
We would host a picnic on the last Friday of each month as a relaxing and fun new tradition that students could look forward to. There would be food, games, and picnic blankets provided. The intention is to build a culture and community within our grade, and by building traditions solely for our grade, we’ll accomplish just that.
Fundraising opportunity: Because there’s no strict rules for what the picnic would be, a variety of activities, games, and fundraisers could be hosted at each one.
The Carnival
Cotton candy, fried food, pop corn, and of course, carnival games, would make a Carnival event extremely fun and popular for students.
Fundraising oppurtunity: In addition to admission tickets, in order to bring the “Carnival spirit” to life, we’ll also charge for Carnival-style tickets. Students can use these tickets to play carnival games and enter raffles for prizes.
Grave vs Grade Tournament
A Grade vs Grade tournament would be series of competitions that representatives for each grade could sign up for, ranging from dance battles, to math competitions, to basketball games, to anything else. After around 5 competitions spread out over a couple of weeks, the grade that had accumulated the most points would win. This would encourage students to cheer on their peers, connect to the Stuy community, and build up school spirit.
Fundraising oppurtunity: Snacks can be sold to students cheering on their peers at these various competitions.
Bring Your Own Breakfast Day
While lunch/dinner foods from different cultures and countries are often shared, students aren’t well-versed in other culture’s breakfast foods, hence creating an opportunity for BYOB day. On a homeroom day, students can bring in a small portion of breakfast from their culture or country, and share it with others in their homeroom. Beyond furthering student’s engagement with each other and their school community, BYOB day celebrates and emphasizes Stuy’s diverse student body.
Spring Holiday Celebration
Passover, Easter, Ramadan, and Holi all happen within a couple of weeks of each other. This window of time can be used as a way to connect through similarities of culture / religion, while also celebrating the beauty in their differences. The cafeteria can be split up into four different areas, and students who observe any of the four overlapping holidays can bring food and set up activities / traditions of that holiday. It draws attention to both the unity and the differences within the Stuyvesant community.
Fundraising oppurtunity: Students can pay to join the Easter Egg hunt as well as a Passover Afikomen/Matzah hunt, and prizes can be given to the winners.