Green Fundraiser for Schools in Troubled Times

Sept. 14, 2009 - PRLog -- Public schools now have an earth friendly alternative to selling cookie dough and wrapping paper to raise much needed funds.  Trees for a Change, based in Northern California, plants trees as gifts in U.S. National Forests that have been destroyed by wildfire.   The organization is offering schools a way to raise money by selling their Tree Gift Cards, in a time when fundraising is not just important, but for many schools imperative.

As many states contend with budget woes, public schools are seeing fewer and fewer programs and even basic necessities, making fundraising even more critical. “Our fundraisers have always helped to support enrichment programs like field trips, but this year the funds are going to pay for things like paper and copy machines” states Denise Ybarra, a second grade teacher in Sonoma County, California.

Parents and teachers alike are worried that the latest round of state budget cuts will affect the quality of public education due to lack of funds.  “With all the cuts going on in education right now, fundraising for our schools is more important than ever” says Kelly Trudeau, past PTA President and parent.   Trudeau herself plans to promote the Trees for a Change fundraiser to her daughter’s school, believing it is a welcome alternative to many of the fundraisers she has seen in the past.

The company’s founder, Kim Isley, says she decided to offer a fundraising program when she realized it would be a great way to help both people and the planet.  “This program benefits our schools, our forests, and a locally owned business—it’s a win, win, win.”

A teacher herself, Isley knew she needed to create a fundraiser that was easy to carry out and, considering the economy, required schools to give no money up front.  The program includes free materials for the school to organize their fundraiser and set goals for selling the cards.  The $15 Tree Gift Cards each plant a tree in a fire devastated forest, and can be given away at any time.  Also included is the recipient’s name on the Trees for a Change online Registry.

According to Isley, the trees are planted by the Forest Service in areas most desperate for reforestation, and help restore forests that are so badly burned they wouldn’t be able to regenerate themselves.  “Replanting these areas is important not only to help renew the forest, but also to provide animal habitat and help prevent soil erosion.” The trees, says Isley, are about a foot tall when planted and are always a species native to the area.

“We give folks all the information we can on our website about our trees and where they are planted, because we want people to see the amazing thing they are doing when they help us restore these destroyed areas.” The website, http://www.treesforachange.com, includes photos and video of the trees and maps of the sites in California, Montana and Michigan where they have been planted.

Since its opening in 2007, the company has planted close to 2000 trees to celebrate various occasions, from weddings and Christmas to memorials and birthdays.  They offer personalized certificates as well as the Tree Gift Cards.  Kim says the idea for the name of the organization came from her feeling that Trees for a Change offers “a chance to change the world by changing the way we give gifts, a shift from material goods to a gift that really makes a positive impact.”

Isley says she and her team hope to plant 5000 trees by the end of 2010.  “It is an enormous goal, but one of the best things about this fundraising program is the potential for each school to help us plant hundreds and hundreds of trees at a time, making a huge positive impact on the forest.”

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Trees for a Change plants trees as gifts in U.S. National Forests that have been destroyed by wildfire. They offer personalized certificates and cards, a school fundraising program ( http://www.treesforachange.com/fundraisers.html ), an online Tree Gift registry, and information about their trees including photos and maps (http://www.treesforachange.com/findyourtree.html ).