As the Ben Stelter School Fundraiser aims for its most expansive year yet, the fundraiser has opened up recruitment for the Fundraising Coordinator role in order to support all the schools participating.
This year, one of the primary goals of the BSSF is to further personalize and improve the experience for schools during the main fundraiser, including the support systems offered. Every school will be assigned a fundraising coordinator who gives the student leaders advice and guides the school through any obstacles they might face.
Within that goal, it’s important that each fundraising coordinator isn’t assigned to a large number of schools, so they can focus on each one, keeping the experience personalized for the school they’re working with. The target is to assign each fundraising coordinator to 5-8 schools each.
The coordinators use many different avenues of communication with the student and teacher leaders during the fundraiser, including text support, personalized advice through shared folders, video call support, and 24/7 email support. Their job is to work together with the schools through every step of the fundraiser, guiding them through timelines and events.
As the fundraiser grows this year, the BSSF is opening its doors to more applicants for the position in order to keep the fundraiser running smoothly. Applicants can be any grade school student in Canada looking to support the journey to proton therapy in Canada. Not only do these student volunteers get to be part of an impactful program, but they also gain valuable, transferable experience in communication and organization.
“This opportunity is unique because it enables more independence in learning leadership skills. As the fundraising coordinator, you have the ability to work with and give advice on student fundraising campaigns, allowing you to experiment with different styles of leadership,” says Ana Shah, Director of Operations at the BSSF.
Helping the fundraiser from the inside is an unforgettable experience for the student volunteers, according to Eleni Tomaras, Senior Fundraising Coordinator, who has been coordinating and supporting schools for two years at the BSSF.
“My favourite part of this role has been getting so connected to the schools that we are fundraising with. It is so interesting to see all the ideas student leaders come up with.”
The fundraising coordinators selected will have a 1-1.5 month training period in the summer, as well as a planning period to develop support systems and methods before coordinating with schools in the fall. The training will prepare them for communicating and give them the time management and collaboration skills needed to succeed at the role.
Being a fundraising coordinator is a great way to both help drive change for childhood cancer patients and develop important skills needed for any future endeavour, including leadership, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
Interested students can apply by filling out this form.
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