How about an "Around The World in 80 Days" or "Around The World In 80 Ways" night? Do it like a county fair and give each booth an equal amount of money (our fair gives $50, but for something like this, you could do it for less) to decorate? If it were me, I think I would have something like a "Foods of the World" tapas night (I did a lot of 'tapa hopping' in Spain one summer. Tapas are small servings of food. If you have ever been to a chili cookoff, it is sort of the same idea. You get about 1 to 2 tablespoons of a food, and then move on to the next booth. The local hospital should be able to donate those little cups that they use for patients meds) and charge at the door (except for those families who cooked - them I would reimburse some of the food costs). If you don't want to charge at the door, you could do it in a 'dime-a-dip' fashion. To get the school involved, you could have each classroom present a different country (corresponding with the food of course...lol). Figure out an amount of money that you can afford to reimburse, put out a sign-up sheet with choices of the many countries represented at your school (it doesn't have to be countries, it can be states or counties too, or a combination of countries, states and counties), send a notice home with a request for cooks (you could add entertainers too) and see what happens.
Our school has alot of diversity, coupled with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged families. Our events are very well attended - fun and educational alike, but people are reluctant to take initiative or offer to help because I think they feel at a disadvantage due to language barrier or time constraints of working class people. Any ideas??
There is a crossover issue about fundraising. Many events would not work at a school where lower income families are the norm. Help??
