A picture of the ad campaign “race track” to the finish line in the Sacred Heart cafeteria. 

Ad Campaign is an integral part of every school year at Sacred Heart Academy. Making our goal means a day off, and who doesn’t love sleeping in? This year’s goal for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was $63,570. Every dime goes straight back to the students. For example, in the past, there has been air conditioning installed in the gym, which directly benefits us. Each and every student should care about raising money for Ad Campaign, because all of the money goes right back to her. Contrary to popular belief, none of the money goes to the musical, despite the fact that the ads for the campaign are published in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s version of a playbook.  

During a lunch period, Sr. Sheila mentioned that with the money raised, whether it be this year or a few years in the future, upgrading and remodeling the cafeteria would be a nice goal; this is a pretty appealing goal for many people!

It can be daunting to go out and acquire ads, especially if you are not in the musical and do not have family members who would be able to contribute. Some ideas include asking those who work at local restaurants, spas, gymnastics or dance schools, and especially alumnae! These ladies just love to help out their alma mater whenever they can. This is one of the easiest ways to snag an ad, because if you really do feel uncomfortable making a phone call, you can talk to the school office and get a list of alumnae’s e-mails. Send a nice e-mail explaining who you are and how you would like to sell them an ad, small or large, and chances are, if you e-mail a substantial number of alums, you will get at least one or two responses in return.

It is optimal if every SHA girl sells $130 in ads, which is not too difficult if you know where to look and who to ask. It is particularly important for you to meet your personal ad goal if you are a member of the musical, because this is your playbook! You want the book to be overflowing with ads so that you can be reminded of a job well done and the much appreciated day off that you and your peers earned. Another fun method of selling ads is to go out with your friends to a nearby strip mall and politely ask any appropriate stores if they would be willing to support a local Catholic school. Do not forget to mention that thousands of people will see these ads at each of the performances!  

For the past few years, unfortunately the Ad Campaign goal had not been met. This year, however, it is a great accomplishment that we have met our goal! In past years, there have been situations where some classes have met their class goals, and others have not, and therefore only the classes who did received a day off. Thankfully, this year, that was not the case. $63,570 is a lot of money, but with everyone working together, the goal  became a reality, and every SHA girl who contributed should give herself a pat on the back. Everyone should be proud and surely, we can exceed our goal next year if every student participates!