Blog Action Day 2013 - Opportunity International

What is Blog Action Day?

Every year since 2007, thousands of bloggers come together for one day to talk about one important issue.

Today we are blogging on behalf of Opportunity International, a global nonprofit organization providing financial resources and training to nearly 5 million people across the developing world. This work helps to give people access to basic human rights and the chance to pursue a better life.

Ridgeway School in Uganda

Evans Ssenabulya and his wife, Roy, live in Uganda with their three daughters under the age of eight. Like every parent, Evans wanted his girls to get a good education. He also noticed how many children in the community, mostly girls, were taken out of school when their families became unable to cover expenses.

In 2007, Evans started Ridgeway School for 100 students in a small wooden building on a rented plot of land. Now, just six years later, he owns the land and has expanded the school into a day and boarding program serving more than 900 students.

Evans says Opportunity International helped take his dreams far beyond what even he thought was possible. Through three loans and a  savings account, he also opened a retail store that sells school materials.

And Evans has even bigger dreams!

He plans to further expand Ridgeway School to increase enrollment to 5,000 and add computer technology and life skills to the curriculum to help students better prepare for the future. Thanks to you and other supporters, Evans is unstoppable.

GIVE to Opportunity International

Keys to a successful school art fundraiser!

Promotion through Communication = Successful Fundraising!

Communicate the school art fundraiser to students and parents.  Remember, through our online ordering option parents may share their child's artwork with out of town family members!

The sky is the limit with Square 1 Art Fundraising!  

 Create excitement by showcasing sample products at your school.  Create billboards and use the posters we provide to decorate hallways, lunch rooms, and the front office. 

 Allow students and families to view, touch, and feel the quality of Square 1 Art products.  You will make a great impact if families see the products in person.

Photos courtesy of Kristeen Jahner, Art Specialist at Horizons Elementary

Additional ways to promote 

• Reward students
• Sweet treats
• Parties
• Extra recess
• Reward parent volunteers
• Thank you cards
• I owe you coupons
• Luncheons
• Principal spreads the word
• School wide email
• Voice mail call out system
• School Marquee
• School newsletter
• Classroom newsletter

Link to Square1art.com from your website.

Use the code below, it's that easy!

< a href="http://www.square1art.com" target="_new"><img src="http://www.square1art.com/css/images/logo.png" alt="support your school fundraising ideas by purchasing your child's art on unique keepsakes "/> </a>

Check out Mendon Center Elementary School's PTSA website.  This a great way to reference the Square 1 Art school art fundraiser on your website!

We've created an attention grabbing video that is sure to pump up the students and get them talking about the unique Square 1 Art fundraiser.  We ask that you show this during your morning announcements and/or in the classroom.

Need more ideas?  Contact us at

(888) 332.3294

We are available to customize a promotion plan specific to your school!  Our mission is to ensure that you have a successful school art fundraiser and we take great pride in what we do!

Take a tour of Square 1 Art, easy to run school art fundraiser

Square 1 Art is an innovative school art fundraising company that sells custom and unique products that display children’s artwork.  We manufacture all of your products in our own facility.

Welcome to our Home

Take a photo tour of our facility and see where all the magic happens!

Friendly Reception

Beautiful Great Wall of Art

Customer Care and Account Management

Team is responsible for customer service and managing school accounts. Individuals are responsible for fulfilling customer concerns about product orders, and general questions about our fundraisers.

Happy Gram

Company-wide we have implemented many different programs to recognize hard work and achievement.  Our Happy Gram program allows employees (not just managers) to recognize their peers for a job well done.

Human Resources Center

Team is committed to equal opportunity employment and encourages applications from people of diverse backgrounds.

Information Technology

Team is responsible for the development, installation, and implementation of computer systems applications.

Art and Order Receiving

Team is responsible for accurately organizing children's art into folders and crates for handling by other departments. Inspect art for problems and correct illegible or non-conforming art. Other duties may include opening packages of art and order forms for customers and art care as needed.

Data Entry

Team is responsible for the data entry of customer and order data.

Print Production

Team is responsible for performing artwork capturing, image editing, printing, organizing of catalogs and product transfer materials.

Production and Match

Team is responsible for the manufacturing of custom products. Duties include paper trimming, heat press operation, product packing and quality control.  Along with pick/pack and quality control of catalogs and customer orders.

 Finance

Team is responsible for asset management along with printing fundraiser checks for our school partners.

Did you know?  Within the last 10 years, we have given millions back to our school partners to use towards their fundraising goals!

Your time is important when choosing a school fundraiser

When it comes right down to it, the most important thing to keep in mind when choosing a fundraiser for your elementary or private school is time! It's the one thing most of us lack but want more of.

We recommend that you look for an easy to run school art fundraiser when comparing your options.  This will give you more hours in the day to do the things you love like spending time with your family.

How do you know it's going to be easy?

I've listed some important features to look for below :

• Organized
• The artwork and orders are sent back organized by class and student for easy distribution.
• Easy One Time Artwork Shipment
• The art fundraiser provides an easy way for you to ship artwork by including shipping labels.
• You don't have to put in the work of uploading artwork because the company photographs all of the artwork for you.
• The school fundraising company keeps the artwork in their database for orders after the fundraiser is over.
• Ideal Order Experience
• The art fundraiser provides a family friendly shopping experience by providing three easy ways to order: Paper order form, online ordering, and phone orders.
• One woMan Show
• The company prints the school, student, and class information on the school fundraiser take home documents and fundraiser orders to ensure that you could run the fundraiser by yourself or possibly with one other parent volunteer.
• Excellent Customer Service
• The company should provide you with 100% customer satisfaction.
• Their commitment should be to offer you excellence in school fundraising programs and ease of use.
• The art fundraiser should have an 800 number with a customer care department that is available to answer your questions during the fundraising process.
• Some companies only allow you to deal directly with one representative and you should not have to wait for only that person to respond to your question.
• Your inquiries should be answered in a timely manner and shouldn't take more than 24 hours for a response.

Have you had the joy of experiencing the key features above for your easy to run school art fundraiser? 

Please feel free to connect with us at (888) 332.3294.

We welcome the opportunity to speak with you in more detail about how we offer a true fundraiser partnership with school parent organizations just like you!

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Donations needed: Backpacks & School Supplies

If you are in the Atlanta area, please consider donating school supplies through
Lift Up Atlanta

Backpacks & School Supplies Needed LIft up Atlanta is in desperate need of backpacks and school supplies for needy children in the metro Atlanta area.  They need your help to make sure that our children are well-prepared for the upcoming year.

Please donate the following school supplies Backpacks Notebook paper Theme (spiral) notebooks #2 Pencils Colored pencils or crayons Highlighters Glue Sticks Boxes of tissue Hand sanitizer Pocket folders Copy paper (now required by teachers) Dry Erase markers (also required) Drop Off Locations for School Supplies All South Mini Storage, 2991 Cole Court, Norcross, GA  678-561-7947 Pleasantdale Storage, 2370 Pleasantdale, Doraville, GA  770-450-5259 Doraville Self Storage, 4268 Winters Chapel Rd, Doraville, GA  404-549-6283 Medlock Commons Self Storage, 3120 Medlock Bridge Rd, Suite 100 (in the rear), Norcross, GA  404-418-6419 You can drop off at anytime during business hours until July 26th at the above locations. You can also drop off school supplies on July 27, 2013 from 12pm to 3pm at Unity North Atlanta Church, 4255 Sandy Plains Rd, Marietta, GA at the Back to School Community Festival. If you don't have time to drop off supplies, please donate on www.liftupatlanta.org