The fastest food fundraiser

Three rural primary schools are combining fundraising forces with their local grocery store in both fundraising efforts and a fun food scramble.

Four Square Spring Creek is teaming up with Grovetown, Spring Creek and Rapaura Schools for a Grocery Grab fundraiser event, with a one minute grab of up to $1000 for the winner alongside $300, $200 and $100 vouchers also up to win.

With tickets available until November 4th at each of the schools for $5 as well as the shop counter itself, and winners announced on the 11th ahead of the Grocery Grab itself on the 17th, Four Square Spring Creek owner-operator Billi Richmond says it’s both a worthwhile and timely fundraiser for all.

“All the schools are pretty closely knit with us, but it was a good opportunity to involve all the schools at the same time, and then give everybody an opportunity to fundraise”, says Billi.

“I won’t say whether we have stolen the idea from other grocery stores, but a lot of the Four Square’s do try and sponsor them in their community alongside schools being are happy to put in the work.

“During the one minute you can have someone with you, and we’ll provide extra trolleys at each end so when people come around, there’s no disadvantage. “If we know what goodies they’re wanting, we’ll try and help with a bit of strategic placement”.

Grovetown School’s Eve Sutherland, Spring Creek School’s Cheryl Alderlieste and Rapaura School’s Rochelle Booker each stress the importance of their wider community in their efforts for small school education.

“We’re all small schools, and so we don’t get a lot of money or funding from the government, so we have to ask our wider community to support us in this time which is really tricky to for many so having Billi here open the doors to us has been really great”, says Eve.

“It’s a cool way to do it too, because compared to the excitement of a grocery grab and vouchers allowing people to choose, a raffle hamper is a bit boring”.

“We are all small rural schools in our little cluster, where we all are very close anyway and with Four Square in as the heart of us all so it’s great to have that reciprocal support”, adds Cheryl.

“Everyone is benefitting, it’s not a competition as it’s all about working together around here”, said Rochelle.

“I see Eve all the time here most mornings, we stop and have a chat, so we seem to have the same timeline and it runs through here, so it just made sense”.

“We wanted to make it open to more than just one huge winner, because it’s an incredible prize but we wanted to spread the love”.

When asked what they would be grabbing first if they won the raffle, the students mostly wanted to stay in the confectionary aisle with Skittles and Doritos being popular answers.

However, some had thought a bit further into their targets.

“I would go for the meat, get a whole heap of sausages and steak, and help Mum and Dad fill the freezer”, said Grovetown student Mason Miller.

“I’d grab lots of butter and milk, but also the confectionary aisle to grab lots of gum”, said Rapaura’s Mia Huria.

“I just like it, it tastes good but is sugar-free so I’d want lots of types”.

Purchase your $5 Four Square Spring Creek Grocery Grab fundraiser tickets from the Four Square, or from the schools’ receptions.