The Eagle FUNraiser at McAuliffe successfully raised over $76,000 thanks to students and their families donating money for the benefit of the school. Students who donated received prizes depending on the amount of money they gave, and McAuliffe ASB organized an Eagle Carnival event for when the school would meet its goal. 

McAuliffe’s main fundraiser goal was raising $75,000. The grade-level goals were obtaining $25,000, and smaller money goals within the fundraiser kept the spirit of donating alive. Additionally, ASB arranged entertaining events to celebrate reaching those goals. For example, when the school reached $20,000, ASB got McAuliffe principal Dr. Weiss-Wright to dress in a giant inflatable chicken costume for a whole school day. Students were both surprised and excited to see their principal in a towering chicken costume walking around campus. 

“I was hot and claustrophobic! But the kids liked it, so it’s all worth it!” Weiss-Wright shared about his experience. 

The money donated during the fundraiser will be used in numerous ways on campus. These include elective classes and their materials, technology around the school, ASB events, clubs and the Media Center. This will benefit the school’s overall environment, adding more to what McAuliffe has to offer for students. 

Noelle Roson, an eighth-grade student and director of the ASB Community Service committee, who was mainly in charge of organizing the fundraiser, explained how her committee, as well as the entire ASB staff, brainstormed and arranged the event. “Dr. Weiss-Wright came by [our classroom] and [we] decided on doing the ice-bucket challenge [for the $50,000 goal]. And for the $20,000 goal, Ms. Bellendir put up photos of the possible costumes for Dr. Weiss-Wright to be in, and then we voted on which one we liked.” 

“[The purpose of the smaller goals] was to help keep kids interested and wanting to raise more money. $75,000 seems like a lot of money, so [we wanted] to make smaller goals [so that] it seems like, ‘Oh, maybe we can make the next goal,’” Roson adds. 

Along with the fun activities, ASB arranged an Eagle Carnival as a celebration for reaching the school’s overall goal of $75,000. The carnival was held on October 14, and every student attended. Each grade level experienced the carnival at its own time during the day. The carnival included a DJ, Kona Ice (shaved ice) trucks, an inflatable slide, obstacle course, human foosball and multiple ping-pong tables. The whole event was on the McAuliffe school field.

To sum up, the $76,000 that students raised will contribute to the school significantly, which will benefit both students’ and staffs’ time at McAuliffe. The rewarding satisfaction of meeting a money goal, along with prizes and rewards for raising that money, made the Eagle FUNraiser a successful accomplishment celebrated by the entire McAuliffe community.