Collect pledges for the youth or youth leaders to participate in specific activities for a specific amount of time or distance. Here are a few examples:
Rock-A-Thon – Youth “rock” in rocking chairs overnight. Kind of like a modified lock-in with movies, food, games, etc.
Bike-A-Thon – Have youth and other kids in the community collect pledges for them to ride a bike for a set amount of time or distance. Consider awarding a new bike to the person who raises the most funds (as an incentive for additional people to join in the event). Or, do the event with other churches in your area and compete to see which youth group can raise the most money.
Marathon – If a youth leader is willing to run a marathon or half marathon in honor of the youth, have the youth send letters to family members and friends asking them to pledge their support of the runner. if it’s a full marathon, set $26 as the minimum suggested pledge ($1 per mile). Set other suggested pledge amounts as the cost of different trip expenses (e.g. $100 to put the youth on a bus, $330 to pay for the hotel accomodations, etc.)
Another variation is $$$ Per Mile, from DCE Roy Heflin: Draw a large map showing the home location and the destination (Servant Event location, Youth Gathering location, etc.). Mark off so many miles or each miles for the total distance. Calculate mileage from home location to destination and total transportation costs, divide costs by mileage, then ask sponsors to donate “X” number of dollars per mile. mark off miles on the map to show money collected.