by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
Each year since 2009, when the Reeds Brook Athletic Booster Club was established, the club has raised funds to support sports programs for middle school students.
These programs, B-team baseball and softball and B-team boys and girls soccer, each team with its own coach, previously had been funded through the RSU 22 school budget, but no longer are, explained Lisa Kelley of Hampden, who serves as treasurer of the club.
“It requires $10,000 each year to support [the four teams],” said Kelley, who has been part of the club for several years. The four sports programs offer 80 to 100 participation slots to middle school students who otherwise might not have a chance to participate in a school sport, she said.
Currently, the club has raised enough to fund next year’s baseball and softball programs, but not enough for soccer, she said.
Other booster club officers are Connie Oliver, president; Sue Scott, vice president and a founding member of the club, and Heather Frye, secretary. The group meets three to four times each year.
“We have done a lot of reaching out on Facebook and on the school website asking for volunteers. We run the concessions stand [during soccer games],” Kelley said. “People are very generous.” The club also runs the concessions stand during middle school basketball games and track meets.
A core group of club members, Kelley, said, reach out to parents and others to ask them to help with fundraising events. “I’m incredibly impressed with the volunteers who help and see the importance of what we are doing,” she said. “The concessions are a huge undertaking.”
Club members also ask volunteers to donate items such as granola bars, small bags of pretzels and chips, candy bars, blow-pops, water and juice drinks that can be sold at the concessions stand. “These items are always welcome,” she said.
the booster club will hold, for the first time, a Bazaar 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Reeds Brook Middle School gymnasium. The event will offer crafts, a bake sale, hot food such as chili, chop suey, macaroni and cheese, and rolls, a used book sale and a raffle.
The event also will feature a used sports equipment sale offering items that will include a treadmill, weight set, hockey skates, ski poles, lawn games, balls and several snow boards. “Anything that has to do with outdoors and sports,” Kelley said.
Admission to the Bazaar is free and donations of items to be sold at the Bazaar are being accepted, Kelley said.
Openings for vendors who would like to take part in the Bazaar also are available.
The Bazaar is a fundraiser to benefit the Reeds Brook Athletic Booster Club to provide funding for sports teams at Reeds Brook Middle School.
The club also will host a Halloween dance for students. That event is expected to bring enough revenue to cover a stipend for one coach, Kelley said.
The club also will sponsor a Valentine’s Day dance, for students, as a fundraiser.
The booster club’s long-term goal, Kelley said, is to discuss with school officials the possibility getting funding for the four B-teams put back into the school budget.
“There are a wealth of health and wellness benefits for the kids who play these sports,” Kelley said. “It helps them avoid risky behavior, builds self-esteem and confidence, gives a sense of belonging, and relates to getting better grades in school.”
Kelley is the mother of three sons who attend schools in Hampden.
“It’s all about the kids having fun, feeling a sense of belonging, doing a positive, healthy activity and reaping the benefits from that,” Kelley said. “The Reeds Brook volunteer community is greatly appreciated. I can’t say enough about how much everyone helps.”
RSU 22 parents who would like information about helping out with booster club activities, or those who would like to donate items for the Bazaar or for the concessions stand, or wish to make a monetary donation, may call Kelley at 862-2250.