Fundraising never tasted so good!

Once every other month for this entire year, the high school’s FFA Club–Future Farmers of America–will be holding a fundraiser night at Culver’s restaurant on Brittany Court in Elkhart. The aim is to hopefully increase this into a monthly event on Wednesdays. But, for now, the only guarantee is that the next one is slated for Feb. 25, where they plan to sell $2 ducks–a dollar from each will go to the FFA.

When the event occurs, FFA members serve customers in the dining room. Culver’s workers will give members an order and their ticket, and the member will take the order to customers in the dining room. The FFA members are very kind and hospitable, and of course, quick. Mr. Michael Atkinson, District Manager of Elkhart and Plymouth Culver’s adds in, saying, “I love the events for many reasons.” But, at the heart of it, he loves giving back to the community. Despite how well the group does in an evening, Atkinson actually wishes profits were even higher. “I always wish they would do better in sales to raise more money for the organization, but I guess every little bit helps!”

The FFA needs this money to pay for many costs within the group, including each member’s OD. “It’s called OD–Official Dress–which is the blue jacket, the black pants, and the white shirt,” explains Mr. Josh Bamber, who co-leads the group with Mrs. Heather Kidder. “Those jackets cost $60 to $80 bucks a piece, but we don’t ask our members to buy those.”

In addition, FFA does not ask members to pay their entry fees to competitions, as most other chapters do. “The Elkhart Lions FFA are very generous,” Bamber confides. So, whether competing in such events as welding, animal science, or plant science, the FFA member does not have to worry about any out-of-pocket costs involved.

That’s where the fundraising aspect comes in. “Culver’s has done Scoopie Fundraisers for as long as I know,” Atkinson states. “I started in 2010, and we have done them since,” he explains. In fact, Culver’s themselves raised this idea to the Elkhart Lions FFA, proposing that 15-20% of all profits went to them on these Wednesdays. Of course, this idea was well received–initiating the beginning of a longstanding relationship between the two.

Although Bamber and Kidder attend for the entirety of each event, the FFA members rotate in and out to accommodate their own work schedules and after-school events. “It is a school night, so some [members can’t] come out,” Mr. Bamber explains, “A lot of them [simply can’t] be there the whole time.” However, Bamber notes, there isn’t a harder working group of kids out there.

“This is an organization that handles agriculture education in the United States.” Their goal is not simply to raise money but also raise environmentally conscious members of the community.

One student who attended the previous events, Sophomore Hannah Kidder, explains how much she enjoyed getting to help out for the event, “due to [her] believing that the best tasting food is fresh from the source.” Kidder personally loves Culver’s and their beliefs, and she appreciates what they do for the community, “It’s not really an event but a way to get good experiences and future opportunities–not just as a job but in FFA in general.” Continuing, she adds, “FFA is agriculture-based ‘club’ and Culver’s is really good about farm-to-table, since it all started in one farm and it became a goal to offer fresh and good tasting food. They support FFA all over, because they understand what FFA is about and why we do what we do.”

To take advantage of their give-back nights, look for the posters around the school grounds and join in on the dates listed on them.  Even just getting a concrete mixer or a bag of cheese curds helps give back to the FFA and the community.