The Wrangell Athletic Club presented this school district with a check last month for $25,042 to cover student travel expenses at state competition. (From left) Schools Superintendent Bill Burr (left) accepted the donation in a check passing with club board members (from left) Leslie Cummings, Christina Good and Cody Angerman.
The Wrangell Athletic Club succeeded in raising enough money in its first full year to repay the school district for the cost of sending students to state competition in the 2023-2024 school year.
The all-volunteer nonprofit organization was created in late 2023 after the school district determined it could not afford to pay the expenses of students traveling to state competition and needed community fundraising to cover the bills.
The costs totaled $25,042 for the 2023-2024 school year, which the Wrangell Athletic Club raised through community donations - and presented a check to the school district last month.
"We got $100 here and $100 there," said board member Leslie Cummings. "We never could have done this without the support of the community."
It was tight, but the group reached its goal, she said. "We barely made it."
A total of 49 donors chipped in, she said, giving a special thanks to First Bank, which matched whatever the group was able to raise at concession stands during last year's student sports events. The bank's donations totaled close to $10,000, Cummings said.
The profits from concessions sales help the teams that run the food stands and also the Wrangell Athletic Club.
Pacific Seafood was another big donor, at $2,000, she said.
"This is about supporting the kids," Cummings said. And not just sports, but also cheerleaders, musicians and any other program that sends students to state competition.
After a fundraising break for the holidays, the nonprofit will get back to work, soliciting donations for 2024-2025 expenses. That will include sending out letters to last year's donors.
Donations can be mailed to Post Office Box 248, Wrangell 99929.
The Wrangell Athletic Club will look for more corporate donations this year.
"We're in our infancy," working to figure out the best way to meet the annual fundraising needs, Cummings said.
The nonprofit and school district needed time to resolve the accounting of state travel expenses from the 2023-2024 school year, with the club looking to pay only for student travel, not the expenses of school officials or chaperones, which the nonprofit said should be the district's responsibility.
"We're keeping them accountable," Cummings said of the organization's review of the bill it received from the school district.
In addition to Cummings, who serves as board secretary, other board members are Chris Johnson, president; high school wrestling coach Jack Carney, vice president; former swim team coach Jamie Roberts, treasurer; and Christy Good, girls basketball coach, and Cody Angerman, boys basketball coach.
Money raised directly by student clubs and activities goes into separate accounts for each group, called Class and Club Savings. To earn more money on those funds - which totaled about $88,000 as of November - the school district has shifted the cash into a higher-interest bank account.
Instead of earning 0.07%, the funds started earning 4.25% as of November, Kristy Andrew, district business manager reported to the school board last month. The interest rate will vary, based on the market.
The earnings will be distributed at the end of the district's fiscal year on June 30, based on the average balance within each club account.
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