Schools

Group Must Raise $5,225 to Bring Sports Back to Middle School

A meeting to discuss fundraising this Saturday is open to the public, and the group is also accepting donations.

The group of parents that is attempting to raise money to resurrect the baseball and softball teams at the Galloway Township Middle School is having a meeting Saturday morning to discuss how to go about attacking the $5,225 target.

The group, spearheaded by Gail Brown, has until April 30–the projected start date for the season—to raise the money to cover the cost of stipends for the coaches and athletic director, the cost of caps and visors, and the cost of referees.

“We can do it all at once, or we can do it as we go along,” said Brown, who added that some of the costs will be paid for by the school. “We have some coin drops scheduled, and we have some rubber bracelets that are being sold in the school. We’re trying to set up a beef and beer for sometime in April, after tryouts are done and the teams are selected. That way, we can see whose children will be on the team and who can participate.”

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Tryouts are scheduled for the last week of March.

The sports were cut due to budgetary reasons earlier this school year. Soccer and basketball at the middle school were also cut, and there are no sports available for elementary school students.

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Cross-country, track and field, field hockey and volleyball remain open to middle school students.

Brown organized the group and approached the school board with a proposition to reinstate the sports using money raised by parents. It follows the same model of what happened in Egg Harbor Township when its sports were cut.

At a recent meeting, the Galloway Township Board of Education voted 4-2 in favor of reinstating the sports, and the target for fundraising was set at $5,225 shortly thereafter.

There was no word on what would happen if the parents didn’t raise the desired funds by the deadline, as both sides appeared confident the parents would be able to raise the money.

“We’re going to meet to discuss what else we can do, who can help and if anyone has any other ideas,” Brown said.

Saturday’s meeting takes place at 10 a.m. at Germania Firehouse, 312 S Cologne Ave. Anyone interested in helping with the fundraising may attend.

The group is also accepting donations. They can be sent to Galloway Township Public Schools-Extracurricular c/o Gail Brown, 31 N Frankfurt Ave., Egg Harbor, NJ 08215.

“We can’t offer any sponsorships, but if there is a business in Galloway that would like to make a donation, it is for a school and they would be helping us put these programs back in place,” Brown said. “This new budget is going to be no better than last year, and it might be worse. If other programs end up being cut, this might be what we have to do. This may be something we have to continually do.”  


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