mini-THON shatters previous fundraising totals
More than 250 students attended mini-THON last Friday, helping generate more than $43,000.
Every year mini-THON is a success, but 2020 was record breaking for Bellwood-Antis.
At last Friday’s mini-THON event the committee unveiled its 2020 fundraising total. The official number was a staggering $43,017.
The success of the event wasn’t expected, but it was well deserved.
“We had a great group of students step up and make it work,” said Mr. Mathew McNaul, one of mini-THON’s two teacher advisers.
The mini-THON committee has been working since August to make the event everything that they knew it could be. Whether it was organizing fundraisers, counting change, or just simply putting the word out, each committee pulled its weight and watched the rest fall into place.
In years past Bellwood-Antis has raised anywhere from $14,000 in 2017, to $25,000 in 2019, for a three-year total of more than $80,000, which goes to the Four Diamonds Organization and its fight against childhood cancer.
All B-A student enjoy the mini-THON event and the instant gratification of seeing how much was raised. This year more than 250 students signed up for the event, which takes place at different areas throughout the high school and middle school.
“I am so proud that we raised $43,000 for kids suffering with cancer,” said senior Maggie Erickson. “”The feeling when those signs are held up and everyone goes crazy never gets old.”
Mini-THON wasn’t all about the money, though; there were many activities for students, like a dodgeball game between grade levels, face painting, volleyball, and a dance to end off the night.
This year sets the standard pretty high for years to come, but it’s not too far of a reach, mini-THON advisers said.
“It is a tough act to follow. However, we feel that way every year,” said Mr. Brandon Stewart, B-A’s other teacher adviser. “We consistently have excellent student leadership that inevitably moves on to do great things,and I am always inspired by how our seniors work with underclassmen to prepare them to be leaders.”
Every year the total seems impossible to beat, but the leaders and members of the mini-THON committee step up and get the job done topping the previous years work. The committees use fundraising efforts year-round to reach the total, including soliciting student donations on Donor Drive. This year’s fundraising initiative went so well, Mr. McNaul said, that organizers knew by January they would match last year’s total, which meant everything else was icing on the cake.
