The 5th Annual Purple Pride Golf Scramble is just three weeks away and the Purple Pride Committee is busy preparing for the event and also preparing to award this year’s grants.
The Purple Pride Fund started in 2004 in an effort to help fund co-curricular programs at Falls High School. The funds’ mission is to help maintain and support co-curricular activities as defined by the Minnesota State High School League, Falls High School and Independent School District 361.
The Purple Pride Fund is guided by a committee of community members that include chair Bill Mason, Allen Rasmussen, Mike Katrin, Gordy Dault, Karen Shickell, LeAnne Hardy, Denise Nevanen, Janet Schultheis and Brenda Dault.
To qualify for a grant through Purple Pride, an organization must be designed for students in grades 7-12 and be a co-curricular activity sponsored by the high school.
“It’s a way for the community and past athletes and participants in these activities to support the current athletes and participants in these activities,” Rasmussen said. “Everyone knows the school budget is being reduced drastically and funding for activities is reduced. This is just a way supplement their budgets and help them get the little extra things that they can’t afford on a regular budget.”
Each year, Purple Pride awards a total of $2,500 to various co-curriculars based on need. The grant applications for the 2008-09 school year have been delivered to all of the district’s coaches and activity directors and are due on Aug. 1. The grants will be awarded at the golf social on Aug. 8.
The golf scramble serves as the only fundraiser for the Purple Pride Fund. The annual event, draws on average, $10,000 for the fund.
“We have been approached by other groups about raising funds, but we are going to stick with the golf tournament and try to make it as special as possible,” Hardy said. “We are so small that we cannot take on other forms of fund raising.”
The current goal of the fund is to create an endowment of $100,000 that will allow the fund to give more money each year to organizations and possibly give scholarships to low income students to play sports or participate in co-curriculars.
“Our goal is to get endowed,” Hardy said. “Our plan for the future is to get to a point where we can take the earnings from our endowment to give more to co-curriculars in the future. It takes a long time to build an endowment.”
The Purple Pride Fund accepts monetary donations through the Falls Education Foundation, the parent organization to the Purple Pride Fund. Other funds come in through donations to the United Way via workplace withholdings from paychecks.
“We do spend a certain amount of the proceeds from the golf event each year on the co-curriculars,” Rasmussen said. “We do get contributions from people and we encourage those.”
The fund currently has about $40,000 and with the help of Katrin, a banker, is investing the money to help the balance grow.
Recent grant recipients have been the cross country team, which used the money for equipment to mark the course of the Hial Pike. The track and field teams used funds to purchase a tent that is used at meets.
“We are still trying to get parents and coaches to realize that we are not a threat to their fundraising efforts what so ever,” Hardy said. “We are there to go above and beyond, to help teams make it to the next level.”
The golf event is open to the public and consists of a nine-hole, five person team, best ball scramble. Individual golfers are encouraged to participate. If a golfer does not have a team, they will be placed on a team for the event.
“I would like to see more individuals golfing in the tournament,” Hardy said. “We are the kind of golf tournament that wants the individual to be able to come out and have a fun time.”
Those interested in participating in the Purple Pride Fund Golf and Social or in volunteering their time can contact any of the board members for more information. The cost is $60 per person, which includes nine holes of golf and dinner.
2007 Purple Pride recipients and uses
Boys’ and girls’ track and field New starting block
Concert/pep band music stands, flip folders and lyres
Cheerleaders $575.00 for new uniforms
Girls’ basketball Jump ropes
Boys’ and girls cross country Course kit for Hile Pike
Boys’ hockey Practice jerseys
Choir Ethnic instruments
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