Drury Alumni Tourney Raising Funds For Students
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The Drury High School Alumni Golf Tournament Fund is seeking 501(c)3 status to expand its donation base and create a more "user-friendly" access to monies raised by the annual event.
Superintendent James Montepare told the School Committee on Tuesday night that it provides supplemental funds for teachers to use for students. He said the organizers have been in discussion with administration on how to better utilize the money raised.
"We've been working very hard to make this a more efficient way for educators to have some additional funding," said Nancy Bullett, fund committee member and City Council liason to the School Committee.
Bullett said idea for the golf tournament sprang from the 35th reunion of her class of 1973. The first tourney raised $1,000, which was used to purchase a mimeo board for students. The now annual event has become the primary fundraiser and a grant request form has been developed so educators can apply for up to $500 for additional learning tools.
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"The golf tournament certainly has grown but we expect it to grow even more," Bullett said. "We are hoping we can see more participation from the school with regard to some of the educators perhaps supporting our efforts and coming to the tounament that day."
This year's tournament will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, at Stamford (Vt.) Valley Golf Course; a barbecue chicken dinner and entertainment will follow. (Note: Greens fees and dinner costs are not tax-deductible.)
Montepare suggested that the fund could spark the development of an alumni association. He said he'd put some effort into creating a database of alumni but the association had not panned out.
"We've always wanted to solidify an alumni base for the North Adams Public Schools," he said to Bullett. "Maybe we should have a conversation about it."
Bullett said she envisioned the possibility of an alumni weekend reaching across classes and tapping into the large number of Drury graduates still in the area. In the meantime, she encouraged School Committee members to help spread the word.
"We all have a desire to give back to the school we graduated from," said Bullett. "Just imagine, just imagine what we could do."
In other business, Mayor Richard Alcombright read an email he received complimenting the superintendent for his work on the city's after-school programs.
In the communication forwarded from Noella Carlow, she quotes Karyl Resnick of the state's 21st Century learning grant program as saying "Jim Montepare is probably the one superintendent in all of Massachusetts who has great vision for the youth of this city."
Carlow, who was attending a grant writing workshop by the Department of Education, also said the city had received a grant for a six-week, full-day summer science camp.
Tags: fundraiser, golf,
