By J1 Reporter Mary Ambrose

To the surprise of many, the usually empty Grease Monkey parking lot exploded with Marian girls throughout weekends in September. The swarm of girls used signs, lots of cheering, and singing to advertise their car wash for Marian’s Walk-A-Thon (WAT). 

WAT is a fundraiser planned by students and they raise money to help with tuition assistance.  Each class hosts a car wash at Grease Monkey on South 90th Street to raise money for their class’ fundraising goal throughout weekends in September.  This year, the Freshmen carwash was cancelled due to a Grease Monkey contact failing to show up and help set up the freshmen car wash. However, the Sophomore car wash, the Senior car wash, and the Junior car wash made money which helped their class to meet their goal.

Car washes not only help classes meet their goal, but they are a bonding experience for the girls who participate. The girls have to work together efficiently to wash all of the cars. They also have to split into jobs to run the car wash most effectively. Some girls hold up signs and advertise on the road, while other girls actually wash the cars. In each stall, there are about two girls who wash the car with soap, one to rinse it down, and then they all work together to dry the car. There are also girls who collect the money that people donate and count it up. The car washes make money through the donations people give after getting their car washed free of charge. Each volunteer has to work hard to keep the car wash up and running. 

“We didn’t have too many girls working, so we all had to do whatever jobs were needed at that time, but it was still super fun even though we didn’t have many volunteers and I felt like I was helping my class,” said junior Amelia Roth. Working together helps classmates get to know each other more, and further develop their bond.

The class officers also have a very important role in car washes. The senior class officers have set up many car washes and have lots of experience. Class Officer and senior Katie Sulentic planned the senior car wash this year. “We arrived early, coordinated with the Grease Monkey employees, and made sure that all volunteers had a role. We had to call in advance to set up our date and time. The car wash is a pretty simple way for each class to make money,” Sulentic said. They also have to set up a sign up sheet for their class to make sure that there are enough volunteers, and to make sure there are always enough girls there at each time slot. 

The money that each class makes goes to their class’s goal. This year, the junior car wash was held on Sept. 11. According to Mrs. Terese Volkmann in the business office, they made a total of $350.95. The senior car wash total came to $594. Even though that is less than a single homeroom’s goal, it is still a contribution to the senior class, and everything counts. The sophomore class made more than any other class made in a car wash this year. Their total came out to $2,185, which is higher than the typical amount of money made in car washes.