Flagship Fundraisers like Shawnee’s ‘Disney Dash’ Build Community & Funding

Wrapped up in a record-breaking year for Shawnee Early Childhood School’s “Disney Dash” was a whole lot of commitment, creativity and community spirit. The same could be said of the many fall fundraising traditions spanning Lakota’s 14 early childhood and elementary schools. In fact, Lakota’s K-6 parent volunteer groups have collectively raised over $290,000 this school year so far, not counting two schools whose flagship fundraisers are still ongoing.

At Shawnee, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) delivered more than just the school’s highest-grossing Disney raffle fundraiser to date, totaling more than $60,000. They literally delivered the magic when a post-hurricane rainy forecast forced their “Disney Dash” celebration to move indoors.

“That wasn’t exactly what we had in mind when we chose our ‘Under the Sea’ theme,” laughed PTA President Ashley Eaton, who has been involved in planning the event for the last four years. Even so, the volunteer group, in partnership with Shawnee staff, transformed the themed event into a memorable one complete with a meet-and-greet with Ariel, a wave crashing game with Crush the sea turtle, and plenty of other games and special treats. 

The volunteer crew describes Shawnee’s Disney Dash as “an abbreviated field day.” It resembles - and once was also called - a “walk-a-thon,” the fundraiser model shared by many other Lakota ECSs. But since adopting the Disney raffle in 2019, the event took on a new name and now serves as the celebration to cap off several weeks of fundraising. The actual moneymaker is a raffle through which Shawnee students and their families are challenged to sell tickets to their friends and family. In the end, the owner of the winning raffle ticket, along with the student who sold it, each receive a grand prize of $4,000 (up from $3,000 last year) toward a trip to Disney World.

“It’s really rare to find a fundraiser that people get excited about, but who doesn’t want a piece of that?” said Eaton, noting the residual spirit and community building that come out of picking the winner with the whole school present during the Disney Dash. “Everybody wants to be a part of that moment. It’s exciting for everyone.” 

Also fueling the excitement each year are all the programs and facility enhancements that the proceeds make possible. This year, Shawnee earmarked some of their profits for making the school playground more accessible - not because it isn’t ADA compliant already, but “to make sure all can enjoy the playground equally during recess,” Eaton said. The fundraiser also supports enrichment opportunities tied to the new curriculum and like every year, PTA-sponsored family events like Shawnee’s sweetheart dance, drive-in movie night, as well as staff appreciation efforts and busing for class field trips, for example.

Other fundraisers hosted by Lakota K-6 buildings range from walk-a-thons to the sale of popular items like cookie dough, chocolate and mums. Creekside ECS and Cherokee have adopted Disney raffle models similar to Shawnee, while Independence Elementary has branded its walk-a-thon as a “Masquerade March, which is always held on Halloween. At Woodland, the PTO hosts a unique calendar raffle, which awards a big-ticket prize to a new participant every day of the month. The proceeds benefit all different things, ranging from assemblies, student incentive programs and classroom materials to facility enhancements like playground equipment, courtyards and AV systems, for example. 

“I have always heard the buzz around the Disney Dash and being new to Shawnee, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Principal Michele Huber. “But I was blown away by the event as a whole. Thanks to our quick-thinking board members, amazing volunteers and our flexible school staff, we were able to still pull off a magical experience indoors. Shawnee really is such a special place.” 

This sentiment toward the event is what propelled Eaton to step into the PTA president role this year, despite two of her three children already having moved on from Shawnee. “That speaks to how much I love this place,” she said. 

Eaton also offered up her personal philosophy about getting involved in your school community. “Any bit that you’re able to give of yourselves to your school is beneficial to not only your own kids but the entire community,” she said. “Whether it’s your time or donations or being in the classroom or helping out during lunch time or a field trip chaperone or sending in empty toilet paper tubes. Everything has a meaningful impact and there’s nothing too big or small.”

Watch Lakota’s “Why WE Volunteer” video series to hear how and why other parents volunteer.