UM Booster Club to Hold Winter Pancake Breakfast

The Upper Moreland Booster Club will hold its fundraising event, this Sunday, Jan. 22.

The Winter Pancake Breakfast is one of three Booster Club breakfast events spread out during the school year. Sunday’s breakfast will take place inside the Cafeteria, from 9 a.m. – noon.

According to Lisa Driscoll, Booster Club president, the pancake breakfasts are one of two major fundraising efforts of the booster club. The other major effort goes toward operating the snack stand at the high school stadium during home football games.

She said that the pancake breakfasts typically pull in $1,200 – $1,600 at each event, depending on how many student athletes play during a particular season. The snack stand is the bigger of the two fundraising efforts, and may raise $4,000 - $5,000 each year.

Why All the Effort?

Driscoll, who has been with the Booster Club for five years, said that the mission of the club is to support and supplement the needs of athletic programs throughout the school district.

“The booster club is very important to help support the athletes at UM,” Driscoll said in an e-mail. “There are things that have not been provided for the athletes of UM that the Booster Club can raise money for and provide.”

In recent years, Driscoll said, coaches from the over 20 athletic programs of the school district ask the booster club to purchase necessary equipment items. And, while a may one day help redirect such coaches’ requests, the Booster Club also helps pay the entrance fees to competitions for student athletes, as well as sponsor the Upper Moreland Sports Hall of Fame.

However, Driscoll said that the Booster Club’s main goal is to pay for the Year-End Athletic Banquet.

She said that last year’s banquet’s total costs was approximately $8,000, which included two scholarship awards, t-shirts for all senior players, plaques and awards for MVPs. Championship gear is also bestowed to student-athletes at the banquet, which come in the form of a commemorative jacket.

According to Driscoll, 20 individual jackets were given to student athletes of the district’s baseball and soccer teams, who won championships in their respective divisions. Such championship awards were half of the total costs from last year’s banquet.

“By coming to the breakfasts, you help us continue to provide gear for our athletes to honor them in their success,” Driscoll said. “HS sports are very time-consuming and the athletes deserve to be honored when they attain certain levels of achievement.”

What’s Cookin’?

Driscoll estimates that more than 400 people attend the breakfasts. She highlights the attendance from members of Hope Christian Church, located nearby the high school. She also says that the members help volunteer during the breakfast. Driscoll also highlights the high school’s assistant-principal Charlene Collins and school board member Mark Wenik as regular volunteers at the breakfast.

The majority of volunteers are Booster Club members, who cook and serve behind the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.

While she praises the dedication of booster club volunteers for their work at the breakfast and other fundraisers, the club could always use more volunteers.

“We encourage anyone that would like to help,” Driscoll said.

All menu items are prepared on the day of the event at the high school, and will consist consist of pancakes, toast, made-to-order omlettes sausage, home fries and beverages.

The next UM Booster Club Pancake Breakfast is scheduled for May 16.

Tickets for the Upper Moreland Booster Club Pancake Breakfast can be purchased at the door for $6.

For more information, e-mail boosterclubumhs@yahoo.com.