Schools

School Fundraisers Ready For School Year

Groups share their thoughts on raising money during these tough times.

With the economy the way it is, school fundraisers are looking for new ways to bring in money this year.

“It’s going to be tremendously trickier this year,” said Ava McNamara, president of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High Athletic Boosters Club. “We have a few different things going on to make it a little bit easier, and less of a burden.”

One possibility, she said, is having the booster club regulate sports fundraising efforts so that different teams aren’t out on the same days asking people for money.

“That’s what we’d like to do so it’s not so out of control,” Mcnamara said. “We’d like to just be a governing body so that fundraising events for different sports aren’t scheduled on the same day. Times are tight, and people can’t give and give and give. This way we can have bigger events and better-run ones to make more. In the long run, everyone would do better.”

Another effort is coming together with other groups for joint events. The athletic boosters, for example, are co-sponsoring a golf outing at Shackamaxon Country Club with the Music Boosters this weekend to raise money for the school year. Previously, the two groups held separate golfing events.

“The Boosters are the ones who pay for the letters, the trophies, and the awards for the kids,” said Kevin Benovengo, who is part of the Golf Committee. “Both sides have scholarships that we give away. We try to boost the programs up and fill the void in the budgets. It’s a tough row to hoe. We on the athletic side have over $20,000 per year on our wish list alone.”

Mcnamara said some of the booster’s biggest fundraising events include selling Raider wear at sporting events, an annual football program and concession sales throughout the year.

For the PTAs and groups at the other schools in the district, fundraising may be equally challenging this year.

But, Maggie Savoca, president of Park Middle School’s PTA, said she remains hopeful that efforts this year will be successful.

“I try to look at the glass as half full,” she said. “Last year, we did well at Park, even though the news hadn’t broken about the economy yet.”

Savoca says that the PTA’s biggest fundraisers include school picture day and a game that pits the Harlem Wizards against the teachers. Picture day exceeded expectations last year, she said, and the basketball game managed to sell out.

“I feel like Park has worked really hard to build a sense of community,” she said. “A child’s school is the last place parents will look to cut corners.”


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