IGEM FUNDRAISING

INNITIATIVE     COLLABORATION     &     PERSEVERANCE

At this day's IGEM meeting, my 6th meeting so far, we did something strange. I am usually involved in the biotech area of the club, where I have the opportunity to explore the different aspects of synthetic biology. Yet, today, given that we had little to do, I volunteered to join the fundraising section for a day. We have been given the task to raise as much money as possible in order to enroll as a competing team in next year's competition, yet to do so we must pay a minimum fee. 

As we began to collaborate as a group, we started to brainstorm ideas for possible fundraisers. We researched on the web and I created a google document where we could all add our ideas. Some possibilities were bake sales, which I suggested, science games and T-shirt sales, but we weren’t sure about any idea. Suddenly, Mikhail shared a thought that got us all keen to begin the preparation.

We began to develop the idea of arranging a sort of secret santa sale. I volunteered to bake cupcakes for one gift, karla to pack candy for another, and Sofia Carolina said we could also make a pass for a free uniform day. Before we knew it, we had a fundraising project on the move.

We didn’t get to the specifications, but I certainly hope that the fundraising crew goes with our idea. It was fun to escape the ordinary, yet I am still eager to going back to my Biotech group on the next IGEM meet.