Columbus Catholic Schools Reaches Fundraising Goal

Marshfield (OnFocus) – Columbus Catholic Schools (CCS) is excited to announce it has reached and exceeded its fundraising goal for upgrading its Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program.  Organizers say they have reached just shy of $100,000 for the upgrades.  The goal was $50,000, but the school already received a $25,000 matching donation so they were already halfway there from the start.

The fundraiser was held during the 2020 Galleon Online Auction from June 19 – June 21, 2020.  Galleon began with a silent auction and Live Premiere on Facebook and YouTube, which included a series of videos including a presentation of the Columbus Catholic High School 2020 Seniors, and a video highlighting the need for upgrades to the CTE Program.

“Typically, Galleon is a live auction event seating over 300 people,” said Angela Loucks, Director of Giving and Events.  “Obviously COVID-19 changed everything.  First we postponed our event from April to June 19, then switched the event from an in-person event to a virtual one.”

“We talked about canceling the event, but decided it was too important to honor our seniors, and raise what we could for the CTE Program,” said Loucks.  “We decided to keep it virtual so participants can enjoy the program from the safety of their own homes. We had around 40 people participate in the Live Premiere, and saw over 650 post engagements thereafter.  We continue to see the number of views climb on our YouTube page.”

Donations include (at the time of release):

• $30,000 Challenge Donation from Wheelers Chevrolet GMC
• $20,000 Matching Donation from an anonymous donor
• $5,000 Matching Donation from Nasonville Dairy
• $28,650 in individual and business donations (surpassing our $25,000 goal)
• $15,705 profit from the silent auction

“I have been very pleased with the support that we received from both the school and business community,” said Michael Lambracht, Principal of Columbus Catholic High/Middle School.  “This project has truly taken on a life of its own, as we continue to reach out to business partners who have a vested interest in the success of our program.  Some have offered to donate money, new and/or used equipment; and some are interested in volunteering, either by giving in-class presentations for our students or participating on our newly formed CTE Committee, which will guide our future efforts as we continue to expand our program.”

“We’ve learned along the way, that there is a severe shortage of skilled workers right here in Marshfield,” continued Michael.  “We recognize that not all students are interested in attending a four-year college and they may have a greater interest in the career and technical fields.  With the help of our new equipment, we want to encourage them to take advantage of our new classes (some that will be dual-credit shared with Mid-State Technical College) and transition into a two-year program at MSTC … and transition again into the workforce.  They have an opportunity to be a high-demand skilled employee who will be connected to a high-paying job with minimal debt.  We think that is something to be very proud of!”

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