With as little as a $5 donation, you can help send a middle school San Joaquin County of Education fifth and sixth grader to a memorable Outdoor Education experience, formerly known as Science Camp.

In return, you could be the lucky winner of a $500, $1000 or $5,000 cash prize. But you have to act fast. The drawing for this fund-raiser sponsored by the San Joaquin County Office of Education Educational Foundation is this Friday, April 12.

Tickets are available at the county Office of Education on Arch Road, off Airport Way, in Stockton during regular office hours. They also can be purchased at any participating schools in the county. The school receives 100 percent of the proceeds.

This fund-raiser is open to any school in the county that wants to participate. It is available to any grade level, not just fifth and sixth graders which is when students are eligible to go to science camp, “so they can start raising money early,” explained Shelly Jersey of the SJCOE’s public information officer. The money raised is saved until those students are ready to go to science camp.

The raffle drawing is something that could augment what many schools are already doing such as crab feed events to raise money for their science camp students, Jersey said.

The county office runs the science camp at Camp John’s Gulch in Etascadero where middle school students go for their Outdoor Education experience.

Since 1957, more than 500,000 elementary students have participated in SJCOE’s Outdoor Education program, added Jersey. Each year, more than 4,000 fifth and sixth graders, as well as nearly 600 high school cabin leaders attend SJCOE’s Outdoor School, spending five days and four nights exploring and learning in nature. Visit http://www.sjcoe.org/outdoored/ for additional information about the Outdoor Education program.

One need not be present to win any of the above raffle cash prizes.

For more information about the fund-raiser, call the County Office of Education office at (209) 468-4802.