J1 reporter Margaret Kelly 

Marian’s Walk-A-Thon is a tradition dating back to the fall of 1984. As the only all school fundraiser, it holds great importance to the good of both students and teachers. However as the years have tallied and the goal has grown, so have the wild accusations on where the money comes from. 

In the 2019 Walk-A-Thon there was nail biting suspense, as students learned that after three weeks of collecting, the school was only halfway to its goal. The classes scrambled to make the goal, as a day off and a movie day were on the line. Within a week, the students managed to raise $73,237.31, surpassing the goal by $36,623. 

Ms. Jessica Abel, co-moderator of Student Board said, “The fourth collection date is always the biggest, but we are going to work to avoid this in the future by possibly offering new incentives.” These new could include prizes such as the free day off, but only if you bring in the money by the second collection date.

Through this feat of determination, the students reached the goal, but exactly where did that money come from? No amount of teenage girls going door-to-door asking for donations could raise that much money in such a short period of time. This is where the conspiracy theorists of the Classes of ‘20, ‘21, ‘22 and ‘23 thrive. If door-to door-doesn’t work alone, then who was donating large sums of money in secret? These people are often referred to as secret donors. 

Every year there are nearly 30 different rumors of who got an anonymous donor to donate a certain amount of money. Yet this year there were no such rumors, so many Marian girls are wondering, “Where did they all go?” The answer is that they probably used the new online donation method. This year the online donation total was $37,984 , and a large amount of those donations came in during that final week of WAT. 

But after research, talking to the administration, and more research, it was found that this rumor of secret donors is completely false. According to Student Board co-moderator Mrs. Beth Dye, there were only four anonymous donors with a total donation of $2,900. “The freshmen received two anonymous donations, the seniors received two, and the sophomores and juniors did not receive any,” Dye said. 

This new information leads the students to believe that most donated through the online method- a true way to donate in secret-  and that the tradition of secret donor conspiracies may take on a new form entirely.