Lend me your ears

It's a good thing November, and thus NaBloPoMo, is almost over because sometimes our life is so mundane and humdrum that I am not sure I have anything left to say. Today was unique, though, because Daddy was home all day long and that hasn't happened in a long time. He watched the girls this morning while I worked which was a real treat. Then he worked while I watched the girls. Then we cleaned the house together while Karen made something like seven or eight pies. I'm not even kidding. Thanksgiving is going to rock!

Andrew was recently accepted for a field study trip to Ghana this spring. We're both really excited about it because it will be a wonderful opportunity for him to apply what he's learned, make some great contacts, and be of service to the people of Ghana. There are a few drawbacks, though, which include two weeks of separation since he'll be going alone and the fact that after we pay for next semester's tuition we will be morally, ethically...positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably broke. And I mean not only merely broke, but really most sincerely broke. It's really actually a miracle that we managed to earn enough money this semester to cover next semester's tuition.

So we're currently brainstorming fundraiser ideas—both large and small scale. We mostly need ideas that take very little capital since we have very little of that (and the 16 other people planning on going to Ghana are in the same boat). I suppose I'll just list what we've come up with and then beg you all for suggestions.

1. A benefit dance: We'd book a free venue somewhere, somehow (at a school? church? ideas?), enlist a DJ (ie: a friend with a great stereo system), and beg left-over baked goods from local markets (Macey's, etc.) for refreshments. We'd ask for a minimum donation of $3 or something like that and then advertise the thing to death so we get a large number of people to show up. Maybe we'd even have a raffle?
   
2. Give your heart to Ghana: Around Valentine's Day we'd go around our neighbourhoods offering to make "dipped marshmallows" for a minimum donation (a dollar or two per marshmallow?) and then make them and deliver them in time for Valentine's Day.
   
3. Bracelets: My brother brought back little bracelets with our names woven into them when he came home from Ghana. He said they were relatively cheap so if we had people give a minimum donation ($5? $10?) we could bring back a bracelet (or something) for them.
   
4. Forego any incentive program and flat-out ask people for money. We'd write letters to relatives, teachers, friends, and neighbours to tell them what Andrew will be doing and to ask for monetary support. The only problem is that we aren't sure exactly what he'll be doing other than that he'll be doing something. One year the students worked on a project with USAID, another year they work with the Perpetual Education Fund. They're still working out the details for this trip but it will be some sort of international development project.

And that's basically all that we've come up with so far. Any ideas that you have to suggest will be welcomed with open arms. Andrew's booked a meeting at the beginning of December to discuss fundraising with his Ghana-going peers and we'd love to have a few solid ideas to present.