Everybody wins
Home School Association reps share fundraising ideas
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
PISCATAWAY — Selling candy and wrapping paper might be guaranteed ways for Home School Associations to raise money for schools but they are not nearly enough to pay all the bills.
To help schools meet their operating expenses and defray tuition costs, the diocesan Home School Association focused its Feb. 28 Winter Wonder Meeting at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center on ways to organize profitable fundraisers.
The event began with a dinner and opening remarks by Msgr. Michael J. Corona, executive director of education for the diocese.
After dinner, HSA representatives attended sessions on fundraising topics such as carnivals, tricky trays, golf outings, casino nights, wine and cheese festivals, and gift certificates.
Valuable contributions
In his comments, Msgr. Corona urged the representatives to be creative in their fundraising approach because of the importance of preserving Catholic education. Although money needs to be raised to pay tuition and operating costs, the only reason Catholic schools exist is for Jesus, he said.
“We live in a time when everything in this world, from movies to TV programs, from newspapers to magazines, from public schools to politicians, to school boards don’t want to have anything to do with God,” Msgr. Corona said.
Msgr. Corona cited a statistic that showed of the people ages 18 to 24 who attended both a Catholic elementary and high school, 45 percent to Mass every Sunday.
“That says volumes about the value of a Catholic school education,” he said.
Msgr. Corona also urged schools which are close geographically to work together.
“What can be better than to have a carnival together? You make more money and divide it down the middle,” he said.
He noted that the diocese helps schools by awarding tuition grants, including more than $617,000 from its Spotlight on Education Foundation, which was established in 2003.
“Enjoy being together,” he said. “Share, learn, then go back home and tell your Home School Associations that the work they do is so very, very important. I know Bishop [Paul G.] Bootkoski appreciates your efforts.”
Tricks of the trade
At a session on how to run a successful tricky tray auction, presenter Kathy Beglan said they raised about $29,000 last year and $15,000 the year before at St. Cecelia Parish, Iselin.
In the auction, schools raffle off prizes that have been donated or bought by tricky tray committees.
Beglan, who has two children enrolled in St. Cecelia School, said she serves as co-chairwoman of the auction to ensure Catholic education is available for others as well.
“I went to Catholic grammar school and I absolutely thrived in it,” Beglan said.
When planning an auction, it is important to rely on parents with experience organizing and running it. “There are hidden treasures in the parents. Don’t be afraid to ask people,” she said.
Mia Sena and Traci Gorky, who were among a group of HSA members from St. Ann School, Raritan, said Winter Wonder was a good way to learn new ideas and make contacts.
Among the fundraisers St. Ann’s holds is a Monte Carlo Night, which raised $18,000 last year, Sena said.
“People from outside the school come to it too, so they become aware of your parish and they feel like part of the St. Ann family,” Sena said.
“We don’t have any immediate [financial] concerns but we recognize the environment is changing and becoming increasingly challenging for Catholic schools in general to survive,” Gorky said.
“We have learned that just like tricky tray has a following, Monte Carlo Night does, too. So the fundraising challenge is targeting clientele because what we don’t want to have to continue to do is go back and raise money out of the pockets of our own families. If we can engage certain segments of the community and they have a good time and support Catholic education then everybody wins.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law