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| | As Group VBS Directors, where do you cut corners if you don't have enough money for everything that Group has to offer in their VBS curriculum? I'll have about $1,000 to work with for my Crocodile Dock VBS 2009 and I'm thinking that that's not going to be enough. I can't really fundraise because it's not a church event. Any advice would be great! One expense I might have to cut out is the Bible Books which I don't mind cutting those out. I'd definitely buy the Bible Buddies and Daily Challenge Strips. I'll also be using a VBS Discount website to order all of my VBS supplies so that they're a little but cheaper than what Group charges. I would like my VBS to look well done with all the resources it needs but with the budget that I have. Thanks in advance for all of your help! God Bless, Josh T. in Ohio
 Group's Crocodile Dock VBS 2009  June 15-19, 2009 |
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Forum Guru
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| | I have a seriously limited VBS budget, and I'm so blessed to have received most of the materials and decorations from bigger churches with a big budget. I think you won't miss the student books. Crafts are not always as effective as they could be, and with the high cost, sometimes eliminating them or limiting them is a good way to cut back. You could do fewer crafts, or even group projects instead, maybe a missions craft to work on all week. It seems really good to have something for them to take home, but it doesn't have to be $3-$5 per child per night. You might be able to get parents to donate food items for your treats. If you ask around in your area, when the advertising begins next Spring, you may be able to get a lot of your items from the churches close by. I looked on the local church's websites to see what they were doing, and if they were doing PL, then I contacted them. Several said I could have their leftovers. Some of them had me come their last day of VBS and I helped clean up, and hauled away the stuff they didn't want to keep and store. We're doing our Power Lab Kids Camp in a park, so we only needed a minimal amount of decorations, which helped. I actually had to tell them we couldn't take all their wonderful stuff. They had sanctuaries and hallways, classrooms and alcoves. I have one big pavlion, and everything that would be on walls will be on foam board. We decided that our budget needed to be promoting the ministry and the Gospel, so we designed a t-shirt with the Power Lab Logo, our ministry's logo, and a scripture. We really feel like the walking billboard for scripture is the best investment, because it keeps on giving, and not only to the wearer, but the viewer. Okay, I'm not doing a t-shirt commercial, so there's my tips. Best of luck on Crocodile Dock! I can't wait! Shawn
Vision Ministries Mom, aka Shawn Parker
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| | | Forum Member
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Last Login: 8/24/2008 12:34:32 PM
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| | I think that crafts could be a place that you could cut corners on. . .we tweak crafts every year -- we usually do 2 or 3 Group crafts and then the rest we come up with on our own. Of course, we make sure we can tie in the lesson with the craft. . . |
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Last Login: 7/24/2008 2:31:48 PM
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| | We've been using Group VBS for many years, but we've always had to cut some areas to keep within our budget. The main thing we do is come up with all of our own low-budget crafts. Sometimes we've found that these are even more effective and last longer than some of Group's crafts. We try to keep it to 50 cents or less per kid per day. We try to recycle by using toilet paper tubes, plastic food tubs, newspaper, etc. and use a lot of crayons, markers, and tempera paint. Another suggestion: you don't need to buy the books or the daily challenge strips. The books are soooo expensive and we usually do a local mission project instead of Operation Kid to Kid anyway, so buying the books just isn't worth it for us. We just make up our own little sheet (which you could easily do in bracelet form) with daily challenge ideas on it for the kids to take home. Something we've noticed: people are a lot more responsive to donating food and other items we need if we post a list with exact quantities. For example, years ago we'd print a list of items we were looking for in the weekly bulletin and just see what came in. But now, we make a larger poster to hang up with details. i.e. "We need twenty pints of strawberries, 4 dozen sugar cookies, 10 tubs of vanilla frosting, 300 snack size paper plates, etc." Then people can sign up for what they are willing to bring. About a week before VBS starts, we can take the poster down and look to see if all of the items have been signed up for. If there are some items left, we can just go buy those. This really helps cut down on the cost of snacks (and works similarly for decorations!) I hope these ideas help! Good luck! -Leah |
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Last Login: 8/4/2008 5:48:32 PM
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| | Our VBS budget is what I can afford...lol..... This was my first year to use Group and I loved it.... Our church was blessed by two churches and had enough books for all the children that attended.... I had already made similar items like what was in the book before the other churches gave them to us.... I thought mine looked pretty good... and would be used in the same manner.... The only thing different was I didnt include the daily story.... But after using the book the churchers gave us I notice that some of the children left the stories behind.... but kept up with their daily challenge strips..... my opinion would be cut out the books too.... memory bubbies are a MUST... (I still have mine in my purse!!!) thats my two cents...... lol..... Missy11 |
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Last Login: 8/25/2008 8:46:40 PM
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| | My budget is also right around $1000. I usually go over because I don't get everyhting donated that I need and have to buy the missing items. I only get the starter kit from group and the items that i can't get from echurchdepot. I don't use the student books, IMO, they get left behind so for the price I would rather spend it elsewhere. I make my own challenge bracelets or find a template someone else has made on the boards. I get my crafts from guildcraftinc. They usually offer something similar for substantial savings. We aren't doing OK2K this year but instead are raising money for school supplies for kids in Latvia. That saves us about $150 right there. I get the Bible Point Posters and the verse posters but not the others that are offered. I do buy the Super Size buddy, this year Fizz. The kids love it and it gives a great place for pictures. |
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| | | Junior Member
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Last Login: 9/9/2008 5:58:02 PM
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| | My budget is very limited too. I try to look for leftover items from the forum. We don't use the books or the daily challenge. I agree Buddies are for sure on the list. This is our 2nd year for group and we have not purchased any of the crafts. We have done something similar. We only have 3 nights of crafts and 2 nights of games. We also have a larger church that donated their leftover decorations last year and will be doing the same this year. God will stretch the funds when His gospel is being spread. This year it being a Lab theme I have access to borrow some items for decoration from my work. Can't wait till next year since my husband is from Louisiana and his family still lives there. Start looking now for items you can use as far as decorations. Hope this helps.
Karen |
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Last Login: 8/5/2008 11:32:00 AM
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| | We use construction paper cut into different shapes with different needed items on each one. These are placed on the table at the main entrance/exit of our church. It is announced that we need the items and our people pick up the piece of paper that has what they want to bring. We have done this for the last 2 years and it works great. When the papers are gone we know that item will be donated and the people have the "reminder" (note) to take home with them. |
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