Gold Party Fundraiser
It seems everyone is feeling the squeeze of a tighter budget, even schools. Why not have a gold party fundraiser? Whether you choose to have a home party or a gold party at your school, either venue can benefit your school. Students, teachers and parents alike can sell gold to earn money not only for themselves, but their school, too!
Click here to find a My Gold Party Representative in your area and set up your school's fundraiser today!
Forget the Cupcakes, break out the gold for that school fundraiser
By: Eric Louie
SAN RAMON - Pouneh Lashanlo went to California High School last week looking to sell four gold necklaces. She sold one, walking away with $11, but she was satisfied.
She got rid of an old piece of jewelry, helped out her daughter's campus and took part in a new trend - all while waiting to for an after-school pickup.
"It's just little chains," said Lashanlo, who had no idea what they were worth beforehand.
Besides the one she sold, two were rejected, but she decided to keep the fourth as an investment. "I was picking her up, so I figured (I'd) stop by and see what I get."
The down economy and high price of gold - currently more than $1,000 an ounce - has created a boom in precious metal sales, drawing people who have never sold gold into the marketplace. TV ads promise payouts for gold via the mail and home parties invite guests to bring old jewelry to cash in. Now, gold sales are the latest in school fundraisers.
Susan Treb, doing the buying last week at California High for Aurum Strategies, does most of her work at home parties, where guests bring gold to sell and 10 percent of sales go to the host. She said others are now finding the same arrangement useful for school fundraising. Besides the California High fundraiser, her business has held a similar event at an Antioch elementary school.
"In this economy, it's been a huge success," Treb said. "There's a lot of money with a little gold sitting in your drawer."
Treb said most sellers don't know what their jewelry is worth, they just want to get rid of it. Sometimes it's because a piece is out of style or because it is broken and would cost more to fix than its worth. Her tools include an acid to determine karats, and a scale.
At California High, Treb said, the fundraiser was advertised around school and held over two days in the school's library, drawing about a dozen parents who came in by appointment.
One father, organizers said, brought in chains, rings and bracelets thinking they were worth about $600 - he got $1,500.
Treb, a hairdresser from Walnut Creek, started buying gold last year, and averages two parties a week. Through such functions and a mutual friend she met Marian Spalding, an teacher in the San Ramon Valley school district who was fundraising for Grad Night at California High, where her daughter attends.
Spalding said organizers for grad night - an all-night party intended to keep kids safe on graduation night - decided to give the gold sale a try. People can sell their gold, businesses like Treb's get customers, and the school gets a cut. "It's a win-win," she said.
Spalding said the gold fundraiser made about $450. In comparison, another fundraiser, that had restaurant customers bring in a flier so a portion of meal sales would go to the school, brought in about $250.
Treb said the amount that can be made varies. She says she attended one home party with only a few people, but ended up buying $4,000 in gold.
Jim Collogan, executive director of the National School Foundation Association, said he had not heard of gold sales being used as fundraisers, but said businesses have long joined schools to give back a share of their profits.
"It's interesting. There's always something new," he said.
Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_14298744?source=email