Roundup for St. Mike’s corrals $35,000 from happy bidders
One hundred and seventyfive animated people attended the western-themed Horsemen Roundup for St. Michael’s High School and, I must say, this was the pervading spirit! Parents and supporters at this annual benefit dinner and auction were in a generous mood.
At some auctions, getting a bid is like pulling teeth, and, at most auctions I attend, the general motivation is the opportunity to get a bargain. I’m guilty too — pick up a Picasso for a song! It’s hard to resist the temptation to get a deal! However, at this event, most items I saw went for MORE than market value. These parents came to support their children’s school, ready to pitch in, pay up, pay extra.
A fun fundraising game they played postdinner, after and in addition to the regular silent and live auctions, was “Underwrite the Wish List Item of Your Choice.”
The girls’ golf team needs five new golf bags at $150 each ... who will buy a bag? And the hands go up in the audience, five people pledging $150 each for the golf bags. The Science Department needs 18 new beam balance scales at $111 each; we need 18 people to pledge $111 ... and, one by one, they do. Then they buy two tennis coach carts, and 12 new glittery sequined and beaded jackets for the dance team. (They’ve won 25 state championships and placed twice in the nationals recently. They are real contenders! They have to look dazzling on that stage!)
Six chess sets with clocks, feeding young brains! For the Art Department, a GoPro and drone for digital photography — “State of the art, man!” And, for track and field, watch those guys run over 30 new hurdles. Ugh! Grueling!
All of these “extras” underwritten by exuberant parents, alumni and friends waving their hands in the air to contribute, delighting in making their children’s and other people’s children’s school experience richer. “We’re investing in their lives,” said one dad whose arm shot up for nearly every item offered. God bless Dr. Gonzales!
Taylor Gantt, president of the 157-year-old LaSallian Christian school, said of the $35,000 dollars acquired, “This allows us to take things from good to great, from nice to excellent, above and beyond! With tonight’s funds, we can do 20 scholarships instead of 10, remodel four bathrooms instead of two, buy 80 new desks instead of 60.”
With such enthusiastic friends and supporters, this revered school should continue to excel and so should its graduates!
“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.” Khalil Gibran