The annual Cheer Certificate campaign kicks off today with a goal to raise $15,000 for local families in need during the holidays.
Organized by the Crawfordsville High School Sunshine Society and 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 more than $20,000 and benefited 228 families, exceeding the fundraising goal by more than $8,000. Organizers expect demand to remain high due to current economic conditions.
“People were very generous last year and some of [the donations] came from out of state,” said Colleen Fuller, Sunshine Society co-sponsor.
Families and individuals are nominated through referral requests. Dec. 3 is the deadline to make a referral.
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 will be published throughout the referral phase.
All of the information included on the form should be printed or typed clearly and correctly. A person may submit up to four referrals. Completed referral forms may be mailed to P.O. Box 368, Crawfordsville, IN 47933, and must be postmarked by Dec. 3.
The referral forms are sorted into a list of eligible recipients and the campaign begins raising money and issuing certificates.
“My favorite part is being able to give someone from the community the happiness they deserve around the holidays,” said Sam Rohr, a CHS sophomore and chair of the campaign. “Sunshine Society is all about helping people and making them feel special.”
Donation forms will appear regularly in the Journal Review and are available online 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.
“The cheer certificate campaign is important because it gives us the opportunity to give back to our community and be able to make a difference while still in high school,” said senior Lily McDorman, the club’s vice president.
Fellow Sunshine Society officer Nivek Witt, a sophomore who sits on the club’s leadership team, said participating in the campaign goes “hand-in-hand” with his desire to join a student organization while helping the community. Club members are responsible for entering campaign information into a database and stuffing envelopes.
“We put them to work,” said Tiffany Sinnet, Sunshine Society co-sponsor.
