HOPE — As organizers of a new charity prepared to stage their first fundraiser last weekend, the weather forecast threw some unpredictability into the equation.
With heavy rain predicted, Students’ Fund of Hope co-organizer Whitney Budd said she paused to pray that her group’s root beer float event on Sunday didn’t end up a complete washout.
Her prayers were answered as contributions have topped $10,000, Budd said.
Not only did it stay dry, but a constant line of patrons at the Hope Town Square waited to get root beer floats during the two-hour event, Budd said.
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“It was crazy,” Budd said. “We went through 350 cups in an hour.”
Although fellow co-organizer Stephanie Long expected most would grab their desserts and go, the majority stayed and socialized, she said.
As a result, others who arrived later had to walk a block or two because parking spaces around the Hope Town Square on a normally quiet Sunday evening were full, Long said.
The charity was created to raise money to pay school-related expenses for Hope children from financially disadvantaged families. There was no set price for the root beer floats. Instead, patrons were simply asked to provide whatever they could afford to give.
As it turned out, that single event raised a total of $6,817 for the Students’ Fund of Hope, Budd said.
“That amount is staggering!” said Chelsea Warriner, Community Center of Hope executive director. “Pretty impressive for any fundraiser, but especially so for a new group’s first event.”
While the largest single contribution was $200 provided by Miller Construction LLC president Chad Miller, Long said the donor didn’t stop there.
When it became clear the stand was rapidly running out of both ice cream and cups, Miller rushed out to buy the needed supplies, delivered them, and then stuck around until the event was over in case anything else was needed, Long said.
When Warriner pulled Budd and Long aside with a serious look on her face, Budd said she was expecting to hear some type of negative development.
Instead, that’s when the organizers were told the Community Center of Hope was prepared to match donations up to $2,500, Budd said.
“I just cried and sobbed,” Budd said. “For the (center’s board of directors) to feel as passionately as we do about our cause, it speaks volumes about the quality of people we have in Hope.”
While the fundraiser ended at 7 p.m. Sunday, the giving continues.
Four days after the Students’ Fund of Hope launched a Facebook page, the social media outlet took in an additional $1,050 in donations, Long said.
This influx of money prompted the Students’ Fund of Hope to make its first contribution. On Thursday, Long and Budd were expected to present a check for $6,000 to the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp.
Most of that money will go toward wiping the slate clean for families facing small-claim lawsuits for being unable to pay school-related expenses, including lunches, during the just-ended school year, Budd said.
“We can’t expect these families to ever get ahead when their kids start a new school year already in the negative,” Budd said.
About 40 percent of Flat Rock-Hawcreek students qualify for free or reduced lunches, which is below the state’s 48 percent average, according to the corporation’s 2017 annual performance report.
Besides the donation, Thursday’s meeting with superintendent Shawn Price, Hope Elementary School principal Jessica Poe and Hope Town Manager J.T. Doane is also meant to establish an informal panel of advisors, Budd said.
In their positions, Price and Poe are best qualified to identify existing financial gaps for disadvantaged families that the Students’ Fund of Hope could fill, Budd said.
While the need isn’t going away any time soon, it remains to be seen whether the Students’ Fund of Hope can sustain long-term support from the community.
But Warriner, who has been friends with Long and Budd since kindergarten, says she’s betting it can — and will.
“As long as Whitney and Stephanie stay creative with the activities planned, the support will remain,” Warriner said. “When people see the passion those two have for their cause, I think the Students’ Fund of Hope will be something that will go on for years to come.”
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Two upcoming events are planned by the Students’ Fund of Hope.
- A donation box for school supplies will be placed at Hope Elementary School during its open house, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Aug. 7.
- A family film series kicks off at 8 p.m. Sept. 14 on the Hope Town Square.
Donations may be made through the Hope branch of First Financial Bank, or through the organization’s Facebook page.
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