By Caitlin Kelly
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With the new school year already in full swing, fundraisers planned for the different classes have also begun. Asking people to buy things may seem simple enough, but there’s more behind-the-scenes work than most people realize. When students don’t even put in the effort to fundraise, the work of the class councils is in vain.

“First we need the idea and then we need to get it approved by administration. And then we need to gather enough volunteers to help and then actually executing it so it’s a long process,” said Junior Class President Kelly Kuroda. Paperwork must go through several layers of approval before the fundraiser is allowed to even begin.

Though it’s common knowledge that the money will go back to the students through events like prom and graduation, there isn’t a consistent amount of participation. “When it comes to students buying we can count on them to do that but when it comes to students selling, that is a lower turnout,” said Senior Class Adviser Katrina Abes.

When students have to go out of their way to complete paperwork for the fundraiser, participation drops to even lower numbers. “You have to fill out forms and a lot of kids either don’t come to get forms or they forget to turn it in and we only have a two week selling period for each fundraiser so during that time lots of kids don’t find it urgent to fundraise,” said Senior Class Fundraising Chair Amber Yonamine.

The problem lies in the tendency for people to disregard matters unless there are personal consequences. “I think because they aren’t directly helping with things like prom and graduation, (then) they don’t see the need for the money,” said Kuroda.

However, that mindset is not one that will lead to progression. Even though fundraising can sometimes be seen as a hassle, students need to realize that their actions will affect groups larger than themselves. “We want everyone to come to our class events like prom or senior outing and we want all the events to be good. In order to get more stuff to do at prom like photo booths or balloons, we need money and all that money comes from fundraising,” said Yonamine.

There are additional benefits beyond raising money for a grade level. “I think it definitely brings class unity because we’re working together towards a common goal and it also helps the students to grow and mature in terms of being responsible,” Kuroda said.

Though fundraising may seem like just another item on the long checklist of tasks to complete, it’s the least the student body can do after a long process of planning by class councils.