One of the larger core issues behind the extreme education disparity between higher-income areas versus lower-income areas comes from a lack of funding. Helping Hands moves to help lower this disparity by fundraising as a club and bringing forth the funds that are needed for certain resources.
One main focus of the Helping Hands Non Profit is to be able to supply underprivileged areas with the necessary resources to get an equal educational footing as more privileged schools. Usually, fundraising is focused on more affluent areas as the families in those communities have more funds to give away. Between 1995 to 2010, the fundraising estimate in parent-led groups in the U.S. rose from twenty-five thousand dollars to 880 million dollars. Naturally, much of this funding was done in wealthier areas, meaning that those resources all returned to further create a gap between high poverty areas versus high poverty areas. A professor at Stanford, Rob Reich, stated that many of the charities that raise needs for schools end up going to richer schools, which creates a deep divide. To go against this clear inequality, fundraising is important for organizations like Helping Hands— to reach out a “helping hand” and lower the disadvantages to low-income communities.
Fundraising not only helps raise money for students in schools that are in need of additional help, but they create a better environment for the corporation as a whole. Fundraising allows for people to learn the art of volunteering. This benefits in creating a better team and leadership setting. Along with these key attributes needed for individuals to grow, fundraising allows people to further ingrain the core values of Helping Hands and implement themselves to feel as if they are a part of something bigger. Oftentimes, it is just simply not feasible to ask schools to provide funding for certain projects or resources. Students like the ones that participate in Helping Hands take it upon themselves to set up fundraising events to accomplish their larger goals. These goals include raising money for the non-profit to function, raising money for educational resources for low-income schools, and many smaller essentials that should be met to achieve bigger milestones.
Overall, fundraising is an essential part of Helping Hands that allows for improvement in the community. This community is not only centered around where Helping Hands is set up but communities that are in need of extra assistance from outside resources. Many of the volunteers who set up these fundraisers allow for underprivileged schools to be on equal footing with more privileged areas. They do this by raising money so that they can provide these schools with resources such as books, technology, school supplies, etc. This is especially important in times like COVID-19. The selflessness seen and taught through these simple student-run events lasts a lifetime in the world of not only those in charge of the events but those that earn the benefits of it.
Works Cited
“Fundraising: Helping Hands: A Students for Students Movement.” Helping Hands, www.helpinghandschange.org/raising-money.
The Importance of School Fundraising., www.socialstudieshelp.com/topics/school-fundraising.html.
McKenna, Laura. “How Rich Parents Can Exacerbate School Inequality.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 28 Jan. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/rich-parents-school-inequality/431640/.
