Any student participating in Northwood’s athletic program is familiar with the significant costs associated with it; equipment, facilities and travel costs can quickly add up, especially with the number of students participating in each sport. Hence, fundraisers are set up both on and off campus.
The most common form of fundraising is revenue sharing with restaurants, where athletic teams receive a cut of the sales on their designated night. However, many programs have put a team-centric twist into fundraising, allowing for the growth of bothbonds and funds.
Baseball: Home run with holiday trees
The Northwood baseball team leans into the holiday spirit with their annual sale of Oregon-grown Christmas trees to interested community members. Athletes are in charge of promoting tree sales and personally delivering trees to buyers. The tradition is beloved amongst staff members, who return each year for a tree.
“It is a great opportunity for players to contribute to the baseball community,” JV baseball coach Robert Stuart said. “It is a chance to forge connections with fellow players that they may have not interacted with before.”
More details about the fundraiser can be found on @northwoodhsbaseball.
Boys Basketball: Shoot-a-thon
In a creative spin to the game, the Northwood boys basketball team hosted a one-day shoot-a-thon where members from both varsity and JV participated in different basketball-themed activities, including a three-point shootout, three-point challenge and a “skillz” challenge. All athletes compete to be “sponsored” by as many community members as possible, with each sponsor donating to the team.
“It was fun with a great atmosphere,” senior Ryan Abaye said. “It is one of my favorite parts of the season.”
Photos of the event, as well as more detailed information about the team, can be found on @northwood_bball.
Girls Basketball: Big heads, big funds
What better way to fundraise for the team than featuring the athletes themselves? This year, the girl’s basketball team held an event where community members could custom order giant head cutouts of “anything or anyone,” usually of players, which the players would then custom-make and give out.
“I think it was a really unique idea for fundraising because it was something that we’ve never done before,” junior Audrey Xu said.
The fundraiser also helps fund other activities for many of Northwood’s athletic teams with campaigns. Athletes say that the fundraiser both strengthens their friendships with their teammates and has the ability to create new ones.
“I personally feel that it’s an amazing fundraiser because it can also be used to support senior nights at other sports programs at Northwood,” junior Lea Ahn said. “It definitely adds to the team bonding experience.”
To learn more about the girl’s basketball team, follow @northwood_girlsbasketball.
