Frassati Catholic Academy would like to thank the many supporters who made the 2021 Spring FUN-draiser a smashing success!!

Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, Frassati families and friends, St. Pius X parishioners, St. Mary of the Lake parishioners, the companies and individuals who donated items for the virtual auction, and our astounding sponsors, we were able to raise $106,570. A portion of this money will be used to purchase the science curriculum items that were directly funded via this year’s Fund-a-Need project. The remaining proceeds will help support immediate needs and long-term goals, including scholarship awards, capital improvements, teacher development, and so much more.

This spring event is our most successful fundraiser of the year, generating a significant amount of support that allows us to provide an exceptional Catholic education to all who seek it. Before the pandemic, parents gathered in person for a Gala and participated in a live auction that raised thousands of dollars. However, in the past two years, we have had to find new and innovative ways to bring this event to life.

As with our 2020 event, our 2021 festivities again featured a virtual auction, but this year we were on a mission to pump up the FUN in fundraising. The parent volunteers who planned this year’s fundraiser launched the week with a student-focused, Great Outdoors Adventure Challenge. With booklets in hand, students kicked off the event with a three-day scavenger hunt challenge that featured activities the students completed for points.

On the following Monday, 164 students turned in their booklets and received a ‘Great Outdoors’ sheet of stickers, as a little reward for a job well done. On Tuesday, 30 students were invited to the “prize shop” where they could select one item from the many options, that included Spirit Wear clothing and hats, Cup and Cone token bags, and s’mores kits (which, funny enough, were the favored prize option).

The next day, we transitioned the week-long event from the student portion, to the grown-up focused fun, and kicked off the Virtual Auction! Two hundred and thirty-five people registered for ClickBid and signed in to participate in this exciting online auction. In addition to purchasing various gift certificates, gift cards, and individual items, 211 individuals donated towards one of the Fund-a-Need items, raising funds specifically for our science curriculum and impacting the learning experience in every classroom in our great school. In total, $32,080 was raised for this year’s Fund-a-Need campaign, earning us a $15,000 match, bringing our total $47,080! And this is the moment where we insert all the heart and high-five emojis.

To say we are blown away by the results of this year’s initiative is an understatement. From the way students went above and beyond in their adventure challenges, to the parents who drove their students around White Bear Lake so they could check off each item in their booklet, to the Fund-a-Need donors who quickly worked towards a goal to help us earn a $15,000 match, and to the active bidders who helped us cross the finish line in triumph, we couldn’t be more appreciative of this incredible community.

Thank you for all you did and continue to do to support our mission, as we strive to provide an exceptional Catholic education to the children of today while inspiring them to be virtuous leaders of tomorrow.

We would like to share our gratitude for the three parent volunteers who made this event possible, Kim Gillespie, Heidi Hughes, and Melissa Gacek. Muchas gracias!

We would also like to thank the Frassati staff members for rallying around this event, and investing their energy to engage our community on a different level and raise funds to help us meet and surpass our goals! Merci!

To each and every person who was involved with the 2021 Spring FUN-draiser, thank you again.