This year was the Gresham-Barlow district’s eleventh annual Phone-a-Thon, and the overall the event raised $25,940 after four nights of calling.

This year band, drama, choir, AVID, track and field, cheerleading, dance and the Black Student Union all participated. The Phone-a-Thon requires students to call people in the community and try to get them to pledge money to the District Reading Program. Each group raised at least $300 for their activity.

Students who participate go through a short training before they start calling people to get pledges. Students also have a script that they are encouraged to follow. If a program brings 12 students to the District Office to get pledges, the district pays the program $300. Bringing 12 students for a few hours is called one session. To add to the excitement, there are bonuses that the district offers to the group who gets the most pledges.

“For our program, it’s nice to have extra money to do competitions,” cheerleading coach Jennifer Fryback said.

Cheerleading is an expensive sport, and with no district funding, parents of cheer students have to pay significant amounts for their children to participate. Between competitions, equipment, banquets and bonding time, the extra money is helpful for the cheerleading program to have.

Not only does this help the cheerleading program have money, but it makes it so the parents do not have to pay as much for their children. According to Fryback, this year she had the money to buy new JV and varsity bows for competitions.

AVID also does the Phone-a-Thon, and this year 53 students participated in the three sessions.

“We need it and use it for field trips to colleges,” freshman AVID teacher Damon Messer said.

AVID classes go and visit college campuses often to see what colleges offer and what college life is like. Renting buses to go to colleges can be expensive, especially when more than one bus is requested.

AVID also visits the Mercy Corps Action Center in Portland. They attend lectures, which can be, but are not always, free. There are also exhibits that they can see. The Phone-A-Thon helps AVID pay for buses to get to those places, as AVID does not always have the money it needs to go on field trips.

The elective programs also need money for many reasons.

“We need the money for festivals and clinicians,” band director Emily Blanshan said.

The band program is in need of money constantly. There are many school-rented instruments that need upkeep. The band goes to festivals and competitions, for which they need transportation. The band also brings in clinicians who give advice on the band as a whole, or clinicians who work specifically with one section.

Not only do elective programs need extra money, but athletic programs as well.

According to track and field coach Chris Koenig, the track program really needs the money from the Phone-a-Thon. The track program has done the Phone-a-Thon for ten years, but because few track athletes volunteered for the Phone-a-Thon this year, they could only participate in one session.

According to Koenig, it costs $700 for one pole vault, $900 for one javelin and $250 for one set of warm-ups. One set of warm-ups only goes towards one athlete, so the price increases for each track athlete that needs new warm-ups.

The money that is pledged from the Phone-a-Thon has shown improvement in the District Reading Program, according to Blanshan, as well as helped organizations in the school.

Students such as freshman Michael Page have felt that it was worth it to do the Phone-a-Thon.

“It feels like a lot of people donated, and it helped the program,” Page said.

Overall, the Phone-a-Thon not only helps the District Reading Program, but helps fundraise for school organizations as well. It also helps students feel involved and like they have done something worthwhile.