Two parents reflected on the glittering, gift-giving tradition of mums and turned it into an opportunity to enhance school spirit while supporting the class of 2026.
Mrs. Erin Brown and Mrs. Jill Josephson, co-chairs of the Mum and Garter Fundraiser and parents of Kinkaid Upper Schoolers, proposed a new fundraiser for the sophomore class: selling mums and garters to students.
Typically, each graduating class has a seventh-grade fundraiser where they decorate birthday signs for Kinkaid students who purchase them. Due to the pandemic, members of the class of 2026 missed out on the opportunity to have their seventh-grade fundraiser.
To make up for this, a new fundraising opportunity was brought to the attention of the Kinkaid administration, but its impact would go beyond just raising money.
Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Josephson wanted to sell mums and garters to raise money because they meant something special to the Kinkaid community — tradition and school spirit — and because mum and garter shopping can be confusing for the uninitiated. Even though wearing a mum is optional, there can be a lot of anxiety surrounding purchasing them, from choosing decorations to knowing where to buy them.
Mrs. Brown’s and Mrs. Josephson’s solution was to try to standardize mum buying and alleviate stress in the process.
“I think our goal was just really to make it easy for especially new families to Kinkaid and high school,” Mrs. Josephson said. “Homecoming is a big event, so we were trying to make things easier for parents and students to ease into Kinkaid traditions.”
The fundraiser was accessible through the Kinkaid Online School Store and made easy with a click-and-go format. Buyers could choose to add a name to their mum or not.
Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Josephson also introduced a tradition to Kinkaid homecoming by selling garters for boys as a part of the fundraiser.
“This is new to the Kinkaid culture this year, and I think for everyone, so we’re excited for that.” Mrs. Josephson said.
They sold over 300 mums and garters. With the success of the fundraiser, it is likely that it will continue for future classes to go toward the class fund.
Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Josephson recommended that future buyers look out for sales more than two weeks before homecoming to allow orders to be placed in time for the homecoming football game.
