//JULIA DRIGGS & STACI PREVATO//
An annual tradition for Key Club is hosting the spaghetti dinner and silent auction before the Wish Week basketball game in order to raise money for Wish Week. The Key Club leadership puts a lot of planning and work in order for it to be the best it can be. Key Club officer senior Grace Humphreys, knows that this event will take a lot of work, but it’s worth it.
“[It’s worth it because of] the satisfaction of the final number of how much we raised, because we know it’s going to help make a kid’s Wish true. I know I’ve made a difference and that makes all the stress and work worth it,” Humphreys said.
The club has been hosting an annual dinner for the past 11 years, originally they did fundraisers with the National Key Club and the Children’s Hospital. The spaghetti dinner was their biggest event, usually falling around the spring play or musical. Three years ago, when the club experienced a rapid growth in members, the club decided to raise funds for Wish Week. “It was the first year we were a really big club, previous year we’ve been a tiny little remnant of around 30 people. It made sense because it was paying attention to where kids were participating,” Key Club sponsor Wendy Strait said.
Putting together the dinner takes more than a little faith. “For us it’s the one non-negotiable event that everyone has to do, and it’s our event. We put it on; we make it happen. It’s in their hands how much money we raise,” Strait said.
Club members are in charge of nearly everything, from organizing the teams, going out to ask business for auction items to setting up and tearing down the event itself.
“There’s a thousand little details that have to go exactly right for the whole event to work. Getting all of those [details] to work together is a little stressful and we never really know what we’re going to get for the food and silent auction items. But, it always works out,” Humphreys said.
Food is donated from surrounding restaurants and club members donate brownies. All members are involved with the silent auction. Members go out small groups to surrounding shopping centers asking for items to donate. The club’s fundraising record is $6,000, and they are hoping to break the record this year.
The spaghetti dinner and silent auction will be held on Jan. 28 before the evening’s basketball game.
