Upper St. Clair school exceeds ‘amazing race’ fundraising goal
A St. Louise student celebrates his completion of the race.
Maureen Ginsburg of Peters Township helps direct racers, accompanied by son Liam, 4.
A record number of signs helped the fundraising efforts.
Scheduling outdoor events this time of year can be tricky, but the folks at St. Louise de Marillac Catholic School chose wisely.
“This is the best weather I can ever remember,” Lisa Osterhaus, director of stewardship for the school and affiliated church in Upper St. Clair, said as students scurried around the grounds on Oct. 12. “We’ve had years of rain, snow, years when we’ve had to cancel and change the date.”
In 2016, everything worked out fine for the 14th annual Amazing Race for Catholic Education, and that extended beyond the atmospheric conditions: The fundraising event exceeded its monetary goal of $75,000, with $82,000 brought in as of race day.
“Students send letters and emails to friends and family, and ask them to sponsor them in the race,” Osterhaus explained. “And then they come out and run a one-mile race to support their school.”
Many of those friends and family members also purchased “good luck”-type signs to be posted along the race route, furthering the fundraising effort.
“We were very excited to have 550 signs this year,” Osterhaus reported, “which is a record for us.”
The event was reminiscent of the Olympics, as the school’s homerooms represented an assortment of countries, to go along with studies about each of them.
“We talk about the currency of their countries, traditions, customs, and they have a lot of fun with that,” St. Louise principal Ken Klase said.
A “grace before the race” spaghetti dinner on Oct. 11 was well-attended, with more than 350 dinners served.
“It was all about bringing families together,” Klase said, “trying to bring back that family tradition.”
Added Osterhaus:
“We are truly grateful to the school families, parishioners and all of those who continue to support Catholic education at St. Louise School. Their continued generosity allows us to provide students with the latest learning tools and technology available today. We are proud to offer an outstanding Catholic education option in an area surrounded by so many great public schools.”