With the 2024-25 school year almost halfway complete and annual senior events not far away, class funds are at the forefront of attention in the the class of 2025. However, there is no need to worry, the seniors are ahead of schedule.
Class funds is an accumulation of each grades’ collective funds (starting at the end of third grade) which can be used to reduce or cover some of the costs associated with events that occur throughout the senior school year; this includes senior dinner, prom, senior awards, and the senior trip.
Activities Director Mrs. Mindy Thiel has stressed the importance of class funds and the impact they can have on reducing costs, and she used the Class of 2025 as an example.
“They [Class of 2025] have set up a Goodwill fundraiser, car washes, and most recently a 50/50 at the Powder Puff game. This reduces the total cost of senior events to $120, in comparison to $220 without class funds,” Mrs.Thiel said.
These fundraisers, as previously mentioned, were incited by class officers, PTO, and other class representatives. Most notably of these officers would be Senior Class President Christian Mendoza, who has been a driving force behind these initiatives.
“We managed to reach our goal of raising $30,000 for our class funds, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of the Class of 2025 and our officers. Now that we’ve met our target, we’re focusing on contributing to our community more and helping other classes fundraise. I’m grateful for all the support and dedication people have given for our class to reach our goals,” Mendoza said.
The class has accumulated roughly $31,300, which is not only a testament to the class, its officers, and PTO, but also the entirety of the Shaler Area community.
The fundraisers were solely dependent on participation, people showing up, and donating their time and money. Without that, there would be a smaller pool of money, more costly senior events, and more urgency towards forking together the recommended class funds goal.
“Our ability to give back to the community has allowed for that to be reciprocated; just from the Goodwill initiative alone, the communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania were able to provide roughly $3,150 for our class funds,” Mendoza said.
With the money goals being reached already, there’s a sense of relief that all the work, all the extra hours, and all the long days have finally paid off, for the most part.
Now, the school year isn’t over yet, and there are still fundraisers to be had; the class and its officers are still striving to add to its class funds. With that being said, however, it definitely feels rewarding knowing each other were a little part in a bigger end goal – an end goal that was achieved by collaboration, not individualism.
“Even though we’ve reached our goal, we’ve been extending our efforts to further reduce the costs of our senior expenses. We managed to raise a couple more thousands, which should deduct our prom ticket prices more. Every accomplishment our class has made was done through collaboration. None of what we have achieved could have been possible without the help of everyone in our class and those outside of it,” Mendoza said.
