Yelm High School choir raising money to resume out-of-school events

Like many extracurricular groups at Yelm High School, YHS choir is currently pushing fundraising efforts in order to provide enough funding for an extracurricular stipend and a program piano accompaniment.

According to Tim Henderson, YHS choir director, around $4,500 of the $7,500 needed for the supplemental contract has been raised. On Saturday, Sept. 20, YHS choir raised around $2,200 hosting a car wash in town, which Henderson described as a big boost.

“YHS choir, we’re in a good spot in terms of overall talent and ability. Our numbers are down this year because we had a large graduating class. The freshman class this year is not as big as last year, but it’s a decent size. There’s no middle school choir happening, so this could be one of the last years where there’s a larger influx of students because they were participating all the way through middle school,” he said. “We’re hoping that through recruiting from within and continuing to put a product out there that is high quality, that people will want to continue to be part of this. The program is in OK shape for now, but we need to make sure we can fundraise enough money to cover a piano accompaniment, which will enhance what we do. Of the $7,500 supplemental contract that we need to raise, I want to say we’re at $4,500 of it. That’s through donations and fundraising events.”

He added that the YHS choir program currently has 110 singers, including freshmen students through senior students. On Tuesday, Sept. 23, his choir students embarked on another fundraiser, this time in digital form through the Money Dolly app.

“Ours is brand new from the company — they made it specifically for us. It is app-based since it’s through Money Dolly. It’s called ‘Fun Book Washington.’ It’s going to have discounts on activities in our area, from bowling to golf, to laser tag, mini golf, skydiving, arcades — all kinds of stuff around our area here in Thurston County and a little into Mason County. It also has discounts all the way up in Port Angeles, such as whale watching and going out to the coast. It’s not just here locally, it expands beyond that,” Henderson said. “Our hope with the money Dolly fundraiser is that we can get a good chunk of sales for the activity cards. Along with that, there’s a donation platform so if you don’t want to purchase a card from us, there’s an option to still donate. We’re hoping that will help fill the gap for a supplemental contract for me, and to bring Kelly (Cornwall) back on board full-time so we can get her some money. That ends up being a total of around $15,000 for the two of us — in terms of having a piano accompaniment.”

Aside from the Money Dolly fundraiser, Henderson noted that the YHS Choir Booster Club has several fundraising events planned and that he plans to work with YHS ASB to raise more funds himself.

“The most important thing is the stipend so we can have concerts and do anything after school. The reason the supplemental contract is so important is because I am not allowed to do any activity with my choir outside the school day. It has to be within that contracted time. Once the funding comes forth through fundraising to fulfill the stipend, then I can basically have a normal school year. I can then take kids to competitions, or do community events. Things of that nature,” he said. “In a normal school year, separate from last year because going to New York was crazy, we would have to raise anywhere from $12,000 and $15,000 to take the kids to competition on the other side of the state. We’d take about 60 to 70 singers, and it would also take care of hotel costs. Once the funds are taken care of for a piano accompaniment and concert stipend, then we’ll start focusing on raising money to allow us to do our normal stuff.”

Even if and when the funds are raised for an extracurricular supplemental contract and a piano accompaniment, Henderson knows there’s still more fundraising work ahead.

“Once we’re done with that, it doesn’t stop. We’re firm believers that the new normal is that every year I’m going to have to fund my own contract. That’s kind of where we’re at,” he said. “We’d love all the support we can get. If you’d like to learn how you can support, reach out to myself or Kelly Cornwall through email. We’ll help you figure out how you can help us from there.”