Hard to believe but school starts for Wayne students K-12 next Wednesday. Fall sports practices for football, softball and girls golf got underway this week with volleyball and cross country hitting the ground next Monday. The annual Blue Devil Tailgate will be Aug. 19 as athletes from all the fall sports teams will be introduced to parents and fans of everything Blue Devils.
Also new will be the first ever Gift-A-Thon which begins at next Friday’s Tailgate and goes through the following Friday (Aug. 26). The event will feature students from all factions of the Wayne school system from Speech Team to cheerleading to golf (I had to get that sport mentioned), going door-to-door through the community on Wednesday, Aug. 24 to fund-raise for the school year for everyone. This is good news for a couple reasons. One, everyone wins because 100 percent of the donations raised will go right to the students through their clubs, programs and activities rather than having to give up part of the funds to pay for administrative costs charged by fund-raising companies.
Second, gone is the myriad of fundraisers that take place through the school year including popcorn sales, cookie dough sales, coffee mug sales butter braid sales, etc. . . . I think you get the picture. This is a one-stop opportunity that is also tax deductible for you itemizers out there (another win).
Wayne Community Schools Foundation director Lindsay McLaughlin said the school heard from numerous folks they wish their donations would go completely to the students in the various clubs/activities instead of the majority going to the fundraising companies that supply the products.
There will be some fundraisers that will remain in tact such as those coordinated through booster organizations like WEB, Music Boosters, Blue Devil Booster Club and WCS Foundation. Those events include the annual Pie and Ice Cream social, WEB parent dances, tailgates along with Blue Devil Discount Cards and the Annual Alumni Campaign letter.
There is a variety of ways to donate including cash, check, pledge, online, drop-off location or mail-in. All checks need to be made payable to Wayne Community Schools Foundation at Box 23, Wayne, Neb., 68787. Anyone having additional questions can contact Lindsay at (402) 375-3150.
Let’s rally around these young people and gift-it-up. There is one more piece of good news here. Wayne’s fine grocery stores, Pac-N-Save and Quality Foods can still take care of your popcorn, butter braid and cookie dough needs.
