I had a lot of success fundraising last year for my trip to DC. I searched the Internet for fundraising ideas, and was most intrigued by the pizza card fundraisers. I would recommend not paying a company any more than $2.50 for a card. I paid $2.50 per card and then sold each for $20. I made 17.50 per card. Once I was near my goal, I realized I had too many cards and sold them for $10. I only spent about 12 hours going door-to-door selling my card. I raised over $3000 to pay for the Forum, travel, and personal expenses.

The company I used for my fundraiser was Result$.  In order to get my card sponsored I had to find a pizza place to sponsor it. I first went to Pizza Man and spoke to the owner. I introduced myself professionally and explained that I need a sponsor for my fundraiser. I then showed him what the card would look like and allowed him to choose what kind of offer would be printed on the card. He selected the offer, "Buy one large pizza at regular get a small cheese free." The card was a plastic punch card that could be used 20 times.  

Fundraising helped develop my character. I learned to be a salesman. I learned to sell myself by talking about where I am from, the reason I am raising money, why/how I was selected, and what I plan to get out of my experience. I practiced dedication, desire and discipline. I dedicated myself to going out for an hour or two a night to raise money. I walked miles, going door to door. Some nights I would come home with $20. Other nights I would come back with $300. I had a good time fundraising too. I met hundreds of people in my community. I live in a town of 14,000 and moved here a few years ago. Some people I talked to for a good 20 minutes. We talked about my plans for the future and a little about the military. Many people that I talked to were in the military and took a special interest in the NYLF Forum on Defense, Intelligence, and Diplomacy.

Fundraising made me a better person. I was touched by all those who helped me, so now I spend at least one day a week volunteering in my community. Many now know who I am in the city. They have seen me in the newspaper, at their door, or in front of them speaking at special events, such as on Memorial Day. My friends call me the future president, and the Senior Class nominated me to be the most successful person of our class of '04 in the future.