Independence Athletic Boosters Club reverse raffle raises over $12,000

by Martin McConnell

The Independence Athletic Boosters Club’s recent reverse raffle was a smashing success. The club was able to raise over $12,000 in funding for Independence High School athletes, which will be divided up and put towards a number of causes around the school and city of Independence.

The raffle had 220 attendees made up of club members, Independence alumni, Independence students, and others affiliated with the school. Club President Jeff Pascarella spoke with excitement about what the fundraiser’s money could bring to the group.

“We just had a meeting on [June 15] and approved a number of training and equipment requests from the coaches for the upcoming 2022-2023 season,” Pascarella said. “The highlight of that is a golf simulator, which is the centerpiece of a new golf room.”

The reverse raffle prizes ranged in price, with one main board and multiple side board tickets going from $2 to $10 each. The raffle was done lottery style, in which the grand prize goes to the final name drawn.

“The reverse raffle included a dinner and then a main board ticket,” Pascarella said. “And we sold additional side board tickets that were connected to the main board.”

In addition to the reverse raffle, the club also held a basket raffle, which helped raise even more funds for the group.

“The highlight was box tickets to [a Guardians game],” Pascarella said.

Considering the success of the raffle, the club wants to direct its attention to larger projects later this year. Pascarella noted that this raffle alone would cover the cost of the golf simulator, and that the club would like to have funds left over for other projects.

“Last year we did the weight room floor and a backstop for the baseball field,” Pascarella said. “We want to continue to do one to two larger projects a year, and then support all the programs [in] the middle school and high school, for any coaches’ requests that come up.”

The club plans to have the golf simulator finished and ready for use by IHS students by the time the season starts on Aug. 1. Pascarella is proud of the club’s work so far this year, noting that this is the first annual raffle event for the group.

“We had a lot of people that helped in terms of the planning and everything else,” Pascarella said. “We way over-exceeded our expectations. We’re going to have another one next year, obviously, and we’d like to make it bigger and better.” ∞