Athletic Department budget cuts prompt volleyball team can drive

The volleyball teams held a can drive on Sunday at the gazebo in Wurster Park.

Sunday afternoon, the usually quiet and clean Wurster Park was filled with laughing teens. Empty pop and beer cans covered the grass. Where were these kids’ parents? Right beside them!

Girls from the 7th grade, 8th grade, JV and varsity volleyball teams, all four team coaches, and many parents, were hard at work sorting the cans and bottles dropped off by community members wanting to help with their fundraising efforts. One varsity mom, who asked not to be named, talked about the need for fundraising. She explained that because of a cut to the athletic budget, this year all teams are being asked to fundraise a certain amount on top of whatever other fundraising they would normally do. For volleyball, it’s $1,500 per team; this means that a relatively small number of families must raise $6,000 this year to make up the deficit. “You do what you have to do,” she stated.

The mom felt the can drive was going to be successful. “It’s a good turnout for a can drive,” she stated, “Lots of people have been bringing cans. Lots of people have been bringing cash donations.” She confirmed that the gazebo was an excellent location for a can drive.

Trisca Beasley, varsity coach, explained that they had already done some fundraising this summer but weren’t even halfway to their goal. She hoped that the can drive would bring them to the halfway mark. She also stated that once they meet their goal, they aren’t done, as the 7th and 8th graders are “in desperate need of new uniforms.” The uniforms would need to be fund-raised for on top of the $6,000 and vary in price from $30 to $50 each for shirts and up to $80 each if you add shorts. At 15 or 16 girls per team, the cost of uniforms ranges from almost $1,000 for just low end shirts to almost $2,500 for complete uniforms.

Beasley stated that the teams would continue to take cash donations after the end of the can drive.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.