The Bi-Annual Blake Classic is coming up on May 5. This year’s Derby Classic will be Blake’s 13th all-school fundraiser, a tradition that got its start in 1995. Every other year, parents gather to socialize with Blake parents from all three campuses and bid in the silent and live auctions. Blake has raised nearly 300,000 dollars each year from these auctions. All proceeds from these auctions go towards improving the Blake experience for students and faculty.
According to this year’s Classic chair, Susan Hitchner-Fluke, the proceeds of the Classic go towards such initiatives as “the wonderful Fund-A-Need program (a complement to Financial Aid), two years of the Parent Association’s operating budget (that brings our students everything from the Pumpkin Party to the Senior Graduation Party to the biennial Celebration of Community), facility upgrades, professional development for teachers [and] technology in the class room to name just a few.”
In addition to supporting financial aid and accounting for Blake’s annual operating budget, the Classic also provides funding for the Faculty Wish List. Hitchner-Fluke described the wish list as including “everything from hand held microscopes for science class to potter wheels for art class.” Parents are able to turn these “wishes” into reality through bidding on an online auction.
Although the Classic culminates in one grand night of bidding, it is only made possible through the tireless work of its volunteers. According to Mark Bogursky, the Director of Business and Finance, “the parents who spend a remarkable amount of time planning and pulling off such a large undertaking deserve high praise and appreciation.”
You can take a look at the Faculty Wish List and the items available for bidding in the silent and live auctions by visiting http://blakederbyclassic.maestroweb.com/.
