The 112th annual Cheer Certificate campaign kicks off today with a goal to raise $20,000 for local families in need during the holiday season.
Organized by the Crawfordsville High School Sunshine Society and the local chapter of Tri Kappa sorority, the program solicits financial donations from the community and awards the funds to families in the form of cheer certificates. The certificates, which range in value based on family size, can be redeemed for groceries at Kroger in Crawfordsville.
Last year’s campaign raised $15,695.
Krystal Rogers, Sunshine Society co-sponsor, said campaign organizers expect demand to remain high. She and fellow co-sponsor, Madison Smith, plan to notify the local food banks about the program in hopes of expanding the program’s reach.
“We understand that a lot of the food banks are struggling to keep their shelves stocked,” Rogers said. “So, that tells us there is a need, and we want those families to know about this program.”
Families and individuals are nominated through referral requests. Deadline to make a referral is Dec. 1. All referrals must be on an official form or a form that contains all of the same information. The official form appears in today’s edition of the Journal Review and can be found online at www.
journalreview.com. The form also will be published throughout the week-long referral phase.
All the information included on the form should be printed or typed clearly and correctly. An individual may submit up to four referrals. Organizers stress that an individual or family only needs one referral to be considered for a cheer certificate.
Completed referral forms may be mailed to Tri Kappa Sorority, P.O. Box 368, Crawfordsville, IN 47933, and must be postmarked by Dec. 1.
Following the referral phase of the campaign, the forms are sorted into a list of eligible recipients and the campaign begins its second phase — raising money and issuing certificates.
“My favorite part about the cheer certificate campaign is actually putting the certificates into the envelopes to be mailed,” said Sam Rohr, senior and vice president of the Sunshine Society. “Whenever I do this it helps me see how many we are actually sending and how many people and families we are giving assistance.”
Donation forms will appear regularly in the Journal Review and are available online as well at www.journalreview.com. Donations may be made in honor of or in memory of family or friends, or the donations may be made anonymously.
Donations should be mailed to the CHS Sunshine Society, P.O. Box 243, Crawfordsville, IN 47933. Be sure to write “CHS” in the “Pay to the Order Of” line on the check. All donor names will be printed in the Journal Review.
All donations remain in the community. Donations are accepted through mid-January and the final day to redeem the certificates is Jan. 31.
“My favorite part of the campaign is the pure joy associated with knowing that you have helped so many families,” said Nivek Witt, senior and Sunshine Society president.
