Red-Nosed Joke Bar

Alden, Gunner, Maeven, Gemma, and Roya flipped the script on the traditional concept for a fundraising stand. They hosted a Joke Stand to raise funds to support families at the Ronald McDonald House. To help spread the word at their event, they handed out red clown noses to those who donated. Other people at the event wanted to know where they received a nose - which sent more and more people to the stand. They raised over $120 for their organization all from small $1 donations and telling funnies. Here’s how they did it:

Interview

Inlight: Where did you get the idea to tell jokes as a way to fundraise?

Gunner: My sisters and I decided we wanted to do something at the Care Market, but weren’t sure what to make or sale. My mom suggested we recruit a friend and then think about all of our talents. Alden and Roya are very funny people. They tell good jokes. That’s their talent. So, we thought that was a good spot to start.

Inlight: How did you all participate in setting the stand up?

Gunner: Since Alden is good with jokes, his sister Gemma and him took charge to come up with a list of funny jokes. We separated some of the other jobs out between my sisters and I. I was in charge of finding a good nonprofit to support. Roya saw a picture of people in clown noses in a book and we thought that would be fun to hand out, too. Maeven wanted to offer face painting and candy at our stand so we added that in to make the stand more entertaining. It turned into a carnival stand.

Inlight: How did you choose the Ronald McDonald House?

Gunner: I saw a video on Youtube with the old commercials for McDonalds and the Ronald McDonald character. I showed my parents and they said the clown character started as a mascot for the restaurant chain, but now the clown frequents hospitals and is the face of the nonprofit to help parents be close to their kids who are battling illness. That sounded like something really important to me. The rest of our team agreed when I told them about it. It would be awful to be alone in a hospital and not have your family close by. It’s important we help people be together.

Inlight: Great job. We are proud of your effort. Thank you for sharing your process and Care Plan with us.