In a time when school funding suffers, parents are increasingly
stepping up
Brenda Lewis knows a thing or two about lending a hand to
schools.
She’s done a candy sale for her daughter’s school and helps
organize an annual silent auction to help raise money, so it was no
surprise that she was the go-to person when the parents club needed
an outgoing parent to help them raise money for new school
equipment.
In a time when school funding suffers, parents are increasingly stepping up
Brenda Lewis knows a thing or two about lending a hand to schools.
She’s done a candy sale for her daughter’s school and helps organize an annual silent auction to help raise money, so it was no surprise that she was the go-to person when the parents club needed an outgoing parent to help them raise money for new school equipment.
Within two weeks Lewis and Tamara Starkweather raised $10,000, but it wasn’t enough. The school needed to raise an additional $20,000 by Nov. 15 in order to meet the deadline for a grant that will help Willow Grove School purchase new playground equipment.
The tiny, 40-student school has one slide, two swings and a 50-year-old jungle gym for the students. Imagine 40 kids vying for a place on one slide and two swings.
“The parent club had been trying to purchase new playground equipment and it was one of those things where it turns into next year, next year – but it hadn’t happened,” Lewis said. “We thought, ‘how fast can we raise this money.'”
Because of budgetary restraints, Willow Grove couldn’t afford to purchase the equipment itself, so they had to depend on the parents for support, Lewis said.
“One of the things we did was start a loose-change drive. We brought in one of those [5-gallon] water jugs and we’ve gotten quite a bit just from that. The kids give too; it’s great,” Lewis said.
Lewis is not a superhero, she’s a parent, but more than that, she’s part of a growing consortium of boosters who step in and help raise funds for items that state school funding doesn’t cover.
San Benito High School Athletic Director Tod Thatcher sees tremendous potential with what boosters can do. Many athletic programs at SBHS have booster clubs to help them get the things that they can’t otherwise afford.
“The boosters allow individual programs to afford things the schools can’t otherwise provide. Things that would possibly be considered luxury items, such as video equipment, pitching machines or team warm-up suits,” Thatcher said.
SBHS band boosters also play a crucial role for the band.
As of press time Wednesday, the fate of Willow Grove’s playground is still in jeopardy. What is certain is if parental involvement was the currency, Willow Grove would be rich.
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached at
po*******@pi**********.com
.
