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Community comes through for LHS
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The response to La Grande High School and the Tiger Booster Club’s
recent fundraising dinner and auction, held to raise funds to keep
athletics and other extra-curricular activities going at LHS, was great
to see. The community, despite these tough times, really came through
for the kids.
Teresa Dowdy, an LHS teacher and former coach, basically spent her summer drumming up support, donations and auction items for the event, which was officially sponsored by the Oregon National Guard’s 3/116. Originally, organizers planned for 250 people. But when that quickly sold out, tables and seating were rearranged so that the dinner could accommodate about 280. Not only did tickets sell quickly, but people signed up as sponsors and people brought their checkbooks to bid on about 500 items. The crowd was in a generous mood, with some of the auction prizes donated back for resale. The end result was an evening that brought in $34,000, helping to bring the $75,000 campaign to within just a few thousand of its goal. Already the Tiger Booster Club had chipped in $20,000 and other groups had made donations, too. La Grande’s Sunrise Rotary donated $1,000 right at the get-go of the fundraising drive. Later, the La Grande Lions chipped in $3,000 dedicated to pay-to-play fee scholarships for those families who might not be able to come up with the money for pay-to-play, whick took a 33 percent jump to $150 at LHS and $75 at LMS. The community has risen to the challenge. A lot of businesses, groups and individuals are to be thanked for their generosity and their dedication to kids and their well-being. Having sports and activities in school is important. Our community recognizes that. |
