Groups hustle across Westmoreland to raise money for clubs through high school football

Pasta, salad, bread and dessert mixed with the efforts of numerous volunteers is a winning recipe for success when it comes to raising money for high school athletics.

The Greensburg Salem Football Parents Association has been doing that for years, and this week was no exception. Hundreds of hungry people came to their annual spaghetti dinner Thursday at the high school.

“This is one of our biggest fundraisers,” said Susan Trout, the group’s treasurer. “We do it every year, and it is always successful. It’s a tradition at Greensburg Salem. We have it after the start of the school year in honor of the football players, the cheerleaders and band, as well as the coaches and trainers.”

The association also sponsors bingo and a golf outing and sells raffle tickets and game programs at Greensburg’s Offutt Field. All that work goes toward raising $45,000 to $50,000 every year to support the football program, said Trout, a former Greensburg city administrator.

It’s an ongoing challenged faced by boosters and athletic departments at all schools.

Parent groups and foundations provide an estimated $2 billion to $4 billion per year to U.S. public schools, according to an article in The Atlantic. The number of parent-led groups that raised at least $25,000 annually jumped from 3,500 in 1995 to 11,500 in 2010, a 2014 study from Indiana University found.

There is certainly no shortage of such groups in Westmoreland County.

Hempfield football holds two ticket sales to raise money. The first was a calendar ticket sale in May, where people who had tickets that matched the number for the day won between $100 and $250. The last day of the month, the winner received $500.

They will host another in the fall. The winner will receive a cash prize and $3,000 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets.

The booster club makes most of its money by running both concession stands during football games, especially for games against Norwin and Greensburg Salem.

Money goes toward feeding players at camps and prior to games and for snacks on the bus.

Each of the 75 players on the football team also is responsible for raising $400.

“We’re thankful we have a good bunch of parents that keep it running smoothly,” said Steve Miletics, president of Hempfield’s football booster club.

Boosters for Franklin Regional’s football team sell $20 discount cards as their main fundraiser, said Pam Damico, president of the club.

”They contain several discounts that far exceed the $20 we sell them for,” Damico said. “We make roughly $14,000 selling the cards.”

The club also organizes a Weight-A-Thon that the coach sets up based on how much weight each player can bench press. Players seek donations based on a per-pound-lifted donation or a flat donation. That effort can raise about $1,000 a year, Damico said.

Sales of donated water at high school graduation brings in about $500. A series of player car washes held throughout the year raises an additional $1,000, she said.

Norwin Band Aides, the school’s band booster organization, has operated a concession stand at Knights Stadium for years. The football booster club runs the other concession stand at the stadium.

The nonprofit organization raises about $50,000 annually through a variety of ways, said Bill Bojalad, president of the group.

The organization actually has a contract with the school district to operate the concession stand on the home side of the field for about 70 events a year, which includes football, boys and girls soccer, and lacrosse, Bojalad said.

“We operate it like a business,” buying food and getting donations of food and drinks, Bojalad said.

Bojalad said their concession stand features homemade food.

“Making haluski is our signature dish. We also do a lot of hot sausage, roast beef and ‘marching tacos,’ ” Bojalad said.

The organization also raises money by handling parking at games.

The money goes toward paying for travel costs, meals and staff salary for Norwin’s competitive band, Bojalad said. The revenue also covers royalty fees, when applicable, for songs the band plays.

“We have tremendous support from the school district. We pick up where the school district leaves off,” Bojalad said.

Norwin’s football boosters group operates the concession stand on the visiting side of the stadium, as well as selling school spirit wear such as T-shirts, said Brandon Rapp, athletic director. Football boosters also sell game programs, he said.

At Greensburg Salem, their spaghetti fundraiser, in part, goes toward paying for gameday meals for the players.

“We buy them food, food and more food,” Trout joked.

The money also is used to buy items such as jerseys and compression shorts, pay for buses to away games for students and print banners for senior players.

The group also bought an end zone camera for Offutt Field to give the coaches and players a view of plays when they review game film. The association has purchased equipment for the weight room, which is used by all the school’s athletes, as well as a blocking sled for the team.

Among the perks the seniors get is their game jersey at the end of the season. The association pays for the replacement, Trout said.

“It’s a big commitment to fund a football team,” Trout said. “It’s a lot of volunteer hours. (We have) a real good group of parents. Everybody contributes. We do it for our kids.”