Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School PTA Fundraiser

For schools across the country, parent teacher organizations play an important role throughout the school year. The Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School PTA is an organization in Lexington, Kentucky consisting of teachers, staff, parents and community members working together to try to provide the best educational experiences they can for their kindergarten through fifth grade students. 

A lot of the work they do during the year is funded by fundraisers, both big and small. Kara Reynolds, the small fundraisers leader on the PTA, is a parent of both a first and third grader at Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School and organizer of their second school-wide Chipotle fundraiser.

After almost two years of virtual learning due to COVID, the PTA noticed that the collection of outdoor recess equipment was looking tired and old. Because of that, the main goal for this year’s fundraising efforts was to refresh that collection to help students discover more joy at recess. With the support of the school and community, their Chipotle fundraiser helped them reach their goal in providing every classroom fun new games for the return of recess.

“We wanted to spruce up our supply for our kids to enjoy while they’re indoors and outdoors as well,” Reynolds says.

The PTA communications chair sent out an email to all 24 classroom teachers, listing 38 different indoor and 12 outdoor recess activities, allowing the teachers to go through and individually choose what they wanted. Each teacher was given a budget of $200 and chose fun activities for their classrooms, from card and board games to stacking cups and kickball equipment.

“The kids’ faces lit up when they were delivered to the classrooms, and teachers are very appreciative to get new stuff for their students,” Reynolds tells us.

As the small fundraisers member of the PTA, Reynolds has been able to plan different fundraising events for the school, her favorite being Chipotle for the ease of setting up and participating both in person and digitally.

“The entire process of participating in the fundraiser from the beginning to the end is so simple. Who doesn’t appreciate easy? And who doesn’t love Chipotle? With that winning combination, this is an event we will continue doing year after year!” Reynolds says.

If your school’s PTA is interested in hosting a fundraiser with Chipotle, apply today.