Recently, the WHS football team undertook a new type of fundraiser never attempted at WHS before. While each varsity team at WHS is permitted one fundraiser annually, the football team’s particular approach has attracted significant attention from students and faculty.
The football team opted to fundraise through a website called Gold Athletics to raise money for new equipment and gear. While the website’s method is new, the practice of fundraising is not.
“Starting last year we allowed all varsity teams to do one fundraiser a season, so this year the football team is doing Gold Cards,” said athletic director Mike McGrath.
A Gold Card is a discount card that participants purchase that provides supporters exclusive deals and discounts at local businesses. The organization offering the Gold Card receives a portion of the purchase price as a way to raise money for their programs.
“Gold Athletics is a fundraising company that has been successfully helping high school sports teams raise money for 20-plus years,” said head football coach Jim Wilcon. “I picked Gold because I have used them before with other teams I have coached, and they are a proven company that I know has helped many programs that my friends coach at.”
Gold Athletics has set a new standard, as the program’s rewards and perks have driven a significant increase in contributions to the football team.
“After doing some other fundraisers in the past, this one has been the best so far, with prizes and benefits for earning money for our team,” said varsity football captain Ryan Kirmelewicz.
While there are many who have purchased the cards in order to enjoy the discounts and prizes, some have expressed concern regarding the unsolicited alerts they have been receiving from members of the team.
“I did not sign up for any texts; I was randomly notified on multiple occasions asking for me to donate to a fundraiser that had no cause specified,” said sophomore Danny Regelman.
The team utilized a website feature that allowed them to share a link with potential supporters by selecting specific contacts from their phones who the players thought might be interested. The website then auto-generated messages to those contacts, encouraging them to participate.
“We were selling Gold Cards and [the website] gave us an option to send a link to support the team to our friends, and it would list the contacts in our phones. We could then choose who we wanted to send the link to,” sophomore Alex Campo said. “So even if it showed that it was a random number, it was actually just us choosing who we wanted to send the fundraiser to.”
In part due to the feedback about the use of this technology during the fundraiser, new regulations will be put into effect to change how these efforts will be handled in the future.
“Starting this winter season, we are going to put parameters up around what teams can actually do with regards to fundraising,” said McGrath. “We will definitely be eliminating anything involving text messages, emails, or alerts. It will be more structured around the team bonding aspect.”
All teams receive funding from the Althetic Department budget and the Weston Boosters provide supplemental support for teams. These resources are intended to meet essential needs for all teams. Despite this generous support, many varsity teams still have expenses they can’t cover without fundraising, which was the football team’s situation when they adopted the Gold Card program.
Fundraising efforts are often driven by a team’s desire to improve the overall experience for student-athletes, not just to address immediate needs.
“Teams don’t always have to have problems as a reason to raise money,” said Wilcon. “Most teams raise money to purchase something that can enhance the kids’ experience, whether it be a piece of equipment or attending a fun team bonding event together.”
While some have expressed skepticism about this latest form of fundraising, those involved with the team have defended the need for the additional funding
“A lot of people might not like it because they might think we don’t need the extra funds,” said Kirmelewicz. “To be honest, even though we’re raising a lot of money, they are small donations from numerous people.”
The recent fundraiser has shown promising results in multiple aspects such as engaging local supporters and the financial needs.
“All signs right now look like it was very worthwhile. The team raised money for our program, got prizes, and involved the community as the Gold Cards we sold have discounts on the back of the card that people can use at local and national vendors,” said Wilcon. “We look forward to using the funds raised in various ways for the kids moving forward.”
