With that said, did you ever wonder where the booster club's fundraising money comes from? As you can see by the chart below, over 71% of the band's fundraising money for this school year - net income meaning income minus the expenses - is generated by the work at Verizon. These figures are as of February 11, 2008 and do not include our last fundraising event of the year (the Spring Event) scheduled for March 1st. Last school year, 46.63% of income into the booster club was generated by fundraising activities. To say it differently -
- the booster club's fundraising efforts offset every students fees by approximately 46% last school year or,
- for every $100 spent on a student, $46 was supplemented by the booster club's fundraising efforts leaving $54 to be supplied by parents, donations, etc.
Where does this money go? Every year is different but income generated by fundraising activities go to items like - outside instruction for all aspects of the band program, marching shows (drills, music, band camp, etc.), concert music, winter guard (drills, music), percussion ensemble music, equipment (tarps, props, flags, instruments, electronics), student awards/recognition, travel (buses, trucks/trailers, food), registration fees, administrative items (accountants, SC non-profit fees, website, etc.), dues and education for directors and many other items - the list goes on and on.
Obviously, it is easy to see how the booster club's fundraising efforts benefit the band program and our children. Band is one of the many positive activities that the students can participate in high school. The benefits of a good music education are endless but here are a few quotes from nationally distributed articles -
- Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school. Lewis Thomas, Case for Music in the Schools, Phi Delta Kappa, 1994
- Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among any group in our society. H. Con. Res. 266, United States Senate, June 13, 2000
- High school music students have been shown to hold higher grade point averages (GPA) than non-musicians in the same school. National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988
- 78% of Americans feel learning a musical instrument helps students perform better in other subjects. Gallup Poll, “American Attitudes toward Music,” 2003
- Nine out of ten adults and teenagers who play instruments agree that music making brings the family closer together. Music Making and Our Schools, American Music Conference, 2000
- 71% of Americans surveyed by the Gallup Poll believe that teenagers who play an instrument are less likely to have disciplinary problems. Gallup Poll, “American Attitudes toward Music,” 2003
- With music in schools, students connect to each other better—greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm. Eric Jensen, Arts with the Brain in Mind, 2001
- A study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry and math. The Case for Music in the Schools, Phi Delta Kappa, 1994
With all of that said, thanks to all that participated with helping at a fundraising activity this school year. Don't forget - we still have one to go, the Oyster Roast/Silent Auction, on March 1st. A special thanks to the 105 individuals from 55 different band families that spent time supporting by far our biggest fundraising activity we offer/participate in at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Just imagine if we had bigger participation with every family working only 1 to 2 events at Verizon!!!
Lastly, please get involved and support the fundraising activities of the booster club. The importance of a good music education are well known. Don't we all want to provide the most and best opportunities for our children?
Thanks in advance for volunteering to help our students achieve their goals and continuing the tradition of music excellence in the Fort Mill School District!!!
