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Project for Awesome is an annual fundraising event started by authors and content creators John & Hank Green in 2007. Community members create videos advocating for charities & raise money for them over a 48-hour livestream. Money is split, with 50% going to the chosen charities & 50% going to Partner’s in Health and Save the Children. Since it's beginning, statistics in Sierra Leone have already improved and after 2021's live stream the Maternal Centre of Excellence was able to break ground, which is incredible.
I'd heard about the Vlogbrothers through their books & YouTube account Crashcourse. Starting in 2022, I decided to host a small fundraising event for our AP to get involved, which then became an annual event during my time in senior space. I love P4A because it really focuses on community, collective action and tangible change. Looking back on the three years, it's empowering to see how I've grown and improved since 2022. P4A was actually one of the reasons I looked into Events Management in the first place and have since completed an 18-month Certificate III at TAFE!
2024
My favourite of the three, our fundraiser supporting P4A in 2024 was held at Rockingham Foreshore in the form of a BBQ & beach day! I was much less stressed during the lead-up as I had two previous events to base preparations on. This year, it was just the seniors and everyone appreciated the change of scenery. I started with a short information session and activity to get people thinking about creative solutions. Students were asked to think of something that worries them about our world, something big that feels out of their control. I asked the students to write these climate anxieties on a coloured sticky note, then follow it with a big solution. We discussed how overwhelming these issues can feel before I asked the seniors to think of a creative solution that targets the issue from the ground up.
Speaking to a group of adolescent students went about as well as you'd expect for a Tuesday morning at school, however students soon warmed up to the activities and participated to a respectable standard.
After the activities, I joined my friends in prepping the sausage sizzle for lunch. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the sunshine and the ocean! We raised $130 during the day which creates a total of over $600 in our three years of events. Feeling very proud, and slightly bittersweet for it to be ending, but I know the inspiration and drive I have shared and gained from these events will stay with me in my next chapter.
Planning Documents
Event plan - P4A 2023.docxP4A excursion form Feb 2024.docxP4A 2024 Poster.pdfProject for Awesome 2024.docx
2023
The previous year I had a bigger space to work with as we'd just moved school sites, which presented the challenge of ensuring the event didn't feel empty. A group of student volunteers joined in with the set-up of market stalls, bake sale, lunch table, Kahoot quiz, and poster paper before the event started after lunch. The snack tables were swarmed enthusiastically after everyone donated their entry fee then settled in for the Kahoot and a chat! At the end of the day, the junior school was invited to attend to continue the event however marketing went out too late and unfortunately only three people showed up. This was disheartening but once I was home and reflected on the first half of the event, counted our donation of $300+ and thought about all the effort I'd put in, I felt proud. I received positive feedback during the week following and even had some younger students ask for help planning their own event! I'd set out to inspire and believe I succeeded.
A few weeks after P4A, two middle school students approached me and asked for advice when creating their own community event! I sat with them as they talked through their plans and asked me for advice and joyfully attended their stalls a few weeks later. I felt very proud to be sought out as a role model.
Appreciations for the team
Thank you & speech
The 2023 Team
Instagram post cover for TCOW
2022
My first P4A event consisted of market stalls, a bake sale & Kahoot quiz. I was fifteen at the time and this was the first community event I had ever proposed, organised and executed. It ended up being the start of an interest in events management which led to a certificate III and various volunteer roles.
Naturally, I learned many new skills along the way, specifically when it came to coordinating a team, asking for help, delegating tasks, creating a run sheet and implementing backup plans. I was shown the world of risk management documents and 11-page school excursion proposals, which I would become very familiar with over the next three years!
On the day of the event, students brought money for each stall with the bake sale being the biggest hit. Kahoot was approached enthusiastically (and compatatively) with lots of cheering and Ella of Bloomin' Bohemian donated 60% of her small business profits to the cause. A group of friends assisted me in running the stalls, set up and pack down and all cheered when the event closed at 11am. I felt very inspired & excited after the first one, it felt good to be creating change with a group.
Early journal entries from my first P4A event on the 22nd of February 2022.
"So proud of all of us... it feels good to make tangible change."
- fifteen-year-old me after coordinating my first social action event supporting P4A 2022.
Further evidence of empirical reasoning can be found in my Project for Awesome fundraiser run sheet with edits and reflection (modifies procedure to account for variables, analyses strengths and weaknesses).
RUNSHEET Project for Awesome 2024.docxPage updated
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