Fundraisers Differ, but Goal Remains Same

By J1 Reporter Kerenzia Amouzou

A Catholic school tuition is not practical for the average American. With the burden of car and house payments, loans, and basic necessities, school tuition can make life expensive. Which is why, every year both Marian and Skutt Catholic have a 4-week fundraiser to help raise money for student tuition assistance. Both Skutt Catholic and Marian have tuitions of about $13,000 a year. Marian’s annual competitive student-run fundraiser is called Walk-A-Thon or more commonly known as WAT. 

This year, 588 Marian students raised a total of $150,093, greatly surpassing their $105,000 goal. As a result, the students received a color party, a Kona Ice truck, and all students walked the short distance of 2 miles. In prior years, only the two classes that raised the most amount of money walked the short distance leaving the last two classes with a longer distance of 4 miles. To try and raise money and meet the goal, Marian students held bake sales, kickback nights, carwashes, and reached out to family and friends. 

Skutt Catholic, another Catholic high school in the Omaha community, has their own walk for tuition assistance. Skutt’s walk is called the Hawk Walk, named after their school mascot, the Skyhawk. This 4-mile walk around Lake Zorinsky occurs every April for Skutt students. Last year, 700+ Skutt students contributed to the school’s $60,000 goal. In total, Skutt students raised $66,000, $6,000 more than their original goal.

While the Hawk Walk is similar to Marian’s Walk-A-Thon, the student drive differs for Skutt students. Maggie Vosik, a Skutt Catholic junior, says, “There’s not much competitiveness between grades and surrounding it (Hawk Walk).” The reason for this is because Skutt students do not receive as many perks or rewards for hitting their class goals.“Last year our class (the sophomores) received a free dress-down day for meeting our goal, that’s it,” Vosik said.

In contrast, to Skutt Catholic, Marian students can receive a variety of rewards for meeting their personal, class, and even school goals. For example, Marian students received free dress for a week, an open study hall, extra money for other Marian events, and a free day off. Regardless of different fundraising efforts, Marian and Skutt Catholic still provide opportunities for students to raise money for tuition assistance.