Weyauwega-Fremont High School students will provide community service this spring while also raising funds for the school district’s upcoming track redevelopment project.
The Weyauwega-Fremont School Board voted in February to spend no more than $320,000 on the project. Middle and high school track athletes hope to raise $8,000 to fund the project’s aesthetics, which would include landscaping and additional sidewalk.
“I was looking for alternatives to door-to-door selling,” W-F track coach Nick Winn said.
Around the time he was thinking about what the students could do to raise funds for the project, he happened to receive something in the mail from Affinity Funding Group of Faribault, Minn.
AFG is a professional fundraising company that specializes in alternatives to the traditional product sales for the youth market. There are no products, no door-to-door selling and no money collection by students.
When Winn received a mailing from the company, he “took it as a sign.”
He is working in conjunction with AFG and said the track students are collecting the names of potential donors.
“Then, those people will receive a mailing, including information about the track season and about the fundraiser,” Winn said.
The fundraiser involves the students doing jobs that are appropriate for sixth- through 12th-graders, with the people who “hire” the students deciding how much of a donation they want to give for the work that is done.
The students will be able to do such things as lawn mowing and spring cleanup.
“Between the middle school and high school teams, our goal is 250 hours of community service,” Winn said.
Typically, about 100 middle school students and about 65 high school students go out for track.
Letters are expected to go out the week of April 4 to the names of people that the students have identified.
AFG will send out the mailing. It will go out addressed from the school district.
Those who do not receive a mailing and who want to have work done at their home, want to give a donation or who want to help the students can contact Winn at 920-867-8957 or via email at [email protected].
He said another idea being considered is to recognize those who give larger donations by having bricks or plaques made.
Also being planned is a 24-hour relay to be held from 4 p.m. Friday, May 20, until 4 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at the track.
“(Middle school track coach) Julie (Hendricks) and I will be there the whole time and someone will be on the track the whole time,” Winn said. “We will have mini games, concessions and family movies outside. Families are welcome, but no dogs.”
Winn said students will be able to earn community service hours by also participating in that event.