After hosting one of its major fundraising campaigns over Labor Day weekend, the Friends of Massey-Vanier Vikings (FMVV) have marked a successful first step in supporting the students athletes of Massey-Vanier High-school (MVHS).<\/p>\n
FMVV has tallied its donations and it raised enough funds to cut the fall sports fees at MVHS in half. Students are required to contribute fees to join sports teams and help pay for expenses such as late buses which bring students home after practices and games.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not giving out a monetary figure as to how much we made but the way that we are looking at it. From Brome Fair weekend, we raised enough money to cut the athletic fees in half. The kids were supposed to pay $100 for soccer and cross-country running but they only had to pay $50, so that was a huge bonus,\u201d said Bob Kay, President of FMVV. \u201cWe also had some money to pay off lawyers, which we had to do, we had notaries to pay off, and to get started on a website. The fact that all of that came through is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Kay, the numbers for this year\u2019s soccer and cross-country tryouts at MVHS speak for themselves in terms of the positive impact of FMVV\u2019s fundraising.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn the fall, because of this, I think partly because the word was out, more kids showed up to try out than they\u2019ve had since before Covid for sure, maybe [even before],\u201d Kay highlighted. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen the impact, but unfortunately some people have to get cut because of that, because of your numbers and everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n While FMVV is making a difference in the lives of local student athletes, Kay emphasized there is still more work to be done and that FMVV will continue fundraising until sports fees at MVHS are down to zero.<\/p>\n As a result, the FMVV will be hosting a 24-hour basketball-a-thon fundraiser in early November, which is around the time that basketball tryouts take place at the high-school. The goal with the basketball-a-thon is to get the student athletes involved and to play their part in FMVV\u2019S fundraising initiatives with a full-day of basketball at MVHS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo there could be kids coming to your door asking for money, that is to be expected, but that\u2019s the next one. In the spring, we have something else planned; it\u2019s called a \u2018boot drive.\u2019 It\u2019s what the [firefighters] do on the corner, you stop and put money in a jar to support. That\u2019s going to be at the Canadian Tire and IGA in Cowansville,\u201d noted Kay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Due to the increase in transportation costs over the years, students at MVHS are currently required to pay a fee to join a sports team to help cover the costs for travelling around the region to play against other Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) schools and for the late buses that bring players home after sports practices. Presenting a challenge for some families that want to get their children involved in organized sports, FMVV came together to help alleviate the costs associated with the sports programs at MVHS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf two or three kids want to play basketball, all of a sudden it\u2019s too much and they don\u2019t play because they can\u2019t afford. Which to me, in public school, is completely wrong. I think I mentioned that last time, but everybody should get the opportunity to participate,\u201d said Kay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kay mentioned that some MVHS alumni that stopped by the FMVV booth over Brome Fair weekend were \u201csurprised\u201d by the group's initiative. He added that the conversations that took place between organizers and former MVHS alumni were just as important as the success the group experienced with its fundraising.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSome of them were quite surprised that we were there doing that because they benefited for free. They were talking about how there were six late buses, they never paid a cent and all of this, to come down to what it is now,\u201d explained Kay.\u201c(\u2026.) [It was a big hit] seeing everybody, everybody talking about what a great initiative it was, how this was great for the kids, and that it\u2019s too bad that we didn\u2019t do something like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n