Clarke Athletic Booster Club seeks volunteers

Looking for a way to help Clarke athletics and activities? The Clarke Athletic Booster Club (CABC) may be the place for you.

For many years, groups of different dedicated individuals have spent their time and energy to help make sporting events at Clarke Community Schools enjoyable for athletes and fans alike. CABC’s mission statement is to “broaden the involvement of students, student families and the Clarke Community School District through support for all male and female student activities of the inter-school athletic programs.”

CABC accomplishes this in many ways, from purchasing new uniforms to new sports equipment. The money for these endeavors is raised by holding a membership drive at the beginning of each school year. The drive has grown significantly over the past few years, and this school year raised over $17,000. Those donations come in the way of personal memberships and contributions from local businesses.

Every four years, CABC purchases new uniforms for sports teams. In the past year, they have purchased uniforms for baseball, softball, tennis and cheerleading. They have also purchased warm-up jackets for all Clarke athletes, computers for esports, a scorer table for the high school gym and workout equipment for Strength and Conditioning. A 2019 article by former Clarke Activities Director Randy Bolton stated that in the five years prior, CABC had purchased or donated over $157,178 to athletics and other programs. Some of those purchases included bowling bags, upgrades to the weight room, end-zone cameras, a football trailer, concession stand upgrades, new football scoreboard, Bose sound system and donations to different clubs and organizations.

Concessions at home sporting events are the biggest fundraiser for CABC throughout the school year. CABC is in charge of all things related to the concessions, and they work with coaches and staff at the school to schedule different students and athletes. CABC also works with speech, Chemistry AD, After Prom, youth sports and other clubs to assist them in raising funds through concessions.

With five of the current CABC board members looking to leave the board at the end of this school year leaving just three people, CABC is looking for the next group of people to step in and take the helm. Volunteers do not need to be a parent, have children in sports or even have children in school.

The next meeting of the Booster Club will be at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 at Clarke High School. The meeting is open to those who would like to attend to learn more about CABC, or what they can do to help. CABC welcomes anyone who might be interested in giving back to the kids.