This past spring was filled with Operation Smile events at the Academy of the Holy Angels (an all-girls Catholic school in Demarest, NJ). We had our largest Comedy Night to date, as well as a Cupcake Contest, Dress-Down Day, and What Makes Me Smile awareness poster. On March 18, comics from a local comedy club performed stand-up comedy in our school auditorium and kept everyone laughing the whole time. They were generous enough to perform at an extremely discounted rate (less than 50% of what they usually charge), which greatly contributed to the success of the event. Overall, this event raised over $3,500 for Operation Smile. We couldn’t be happier! In addition to ticket sales, a lot of them money we raised came from raffle ticket sales. We had items donated from Saks Fifth Avenue (who we had partnered with earlier in the year for a shopping event), a local spa, a jewelry store, and much more. The last time my school held this event, it wasn’t nearly as successful. We are thrilled to see how much our club is grown and look for great things in the future!
Throughout the year, bake sales are always very successful fundraisers for us. For our spring bake sale, we decided to do a Cupcake Contest. It was an easy way to reinvent a simple fundraiser, and we raised over $300. We also had our annual Dress-Down Day, where students that pay $3 do not have to wear their uniform to school. Due to some scheduling conflicts, we did not get the support we wanted, but we still managed to raise over $600. Most Dress-Down Days raise closer to $1,000, but it was one small set-back in a really great spring.
For our spring awareness event, we hung up a blank poster on our Operation Smile bulletin board that said “What makes you smile?” across the top. We also hung a marker next to the poster, so girls could write what made them smile as they were walking from class to class. Within three days, the entire poster was filled up! It was a great way to keep people thinking about Operation Smile and give them something to smile about. Overall, Spring 2011 was a great semester for Holy Angels Operation Smile. Next year’s executive board is now in place, and they will be able to lead the club to bigger and better things.
