Story reposted with permission from The Times-Standard.
The Eureka High Boosters have the straightforward mission to support EHS athletic teams and programs. To do that, they promote teams, provide mini-grants and support travel. If a Logger team reaches the North Coast Section playoffs, the boosters cover the costs.
Per Amber Buntin, past president and now a volunteer, they support all organized teams: Cheer, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball, track and field, swimming — all the school’s official athletics programs.
They also provide scholarships to student-athletes, including six last year. These go to senior athletes to support obtaining their college education or attending trade school.
It’s well established that kids accrue a lot of benefits participating in high school sports. These include development of social skills, discipline, enhanced mental health and experience working with various people, including some they may find difficult. A big one is for a young person to pick themselves up after disappointment, work harder, and get after it again.
But high school sports are also expensive. Community support is essential.
“It’s a community effort,” Amber says. “We support teams that may not have the funds to participate in competitions and travel otherwise.”
I was curious as to how having 501(c)(3) status, something the boosters have held for around 75 years, proves beneficial to the cause. The list is compelling. Donations become tax-deductible. Some other benefits include reduced booth costs at certain events and some savings on things like sales taxes. Teams can use the nonprofit’s tax ID, so for example, when the volleyball team sells fireworks, it uses the boosters’ 501(c)(3) tax ID. Raffles, a fundraising tactic, are legal in California when conducted by a nonprofit and are often shady and not legal if run by individuals or businesses.
The boosters raise money in various ways. They sell a lot of merch. They run concessions at most Eureka High School sporting events. And community connections provide resources: for example, Visual Concepts produces most of the screen printing and sticker production, and Amber gave them a shout-out for great art at affordable prices.
The boosters are always on the lookout for volunteers and potential board members. Volunteers attend monthly board meetings, sell snacks and merch, make flyers, do the books and run scoreboards. Typically, booster volunteers have a student at Eureka High. Some, however, continue to serve for years after their offspring graduate. To get in touch, email Eurekahighboosters@gmail.com.
Several invitations go out to folks reading this column.
First, know that you can keep up with all that’s going on via their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EurekaHighAthleticBoosters/) and Instagram (@eurekahighathleticboosters) pages.
On September 18, the Boosters’ annual Dinner and Auction occurs at the Sequoia Conference Center. It will feature a lovely dinner catered by Dorris and Daughter. Fun games are promised as well as a raffle, and Amber promises that there will be auction items you won’t want to miss out on! You can register on the boosters’ website (https://sites.google.com/view/ehsathleticboosters/home_1).
Get out and support Logger athletics. You might particularly want to see a football game this fall on Eureka High’s brand-new field. And I’ll just add that if you don’t happen to be a Eureka person, you can still come show some love and also support the kids playing where you live.
Michael Kraft writes the Good Work series, volunteering on behalf of the Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN). NorCAN, a DreamMaker project of the Ink People, supports connections between people and organizations that work every day to keep our communities healthy and strong by offering professional development, board support, networking connections and more. Learn more at https://norcal-nonprofits.com/. To nominate a deserving nonprofit organization to be profiled, email michael@kraftconsultants.com.