As the holiday season commences, the Cooper City High School Sound of Pride (SOP) has begun their annual tree stand fundraiser. SOP students and their parents volunteer to help the band sell Christmas trees and holiday decor.
The tree stand fundraiser will take place from November 23 to December 24. The tree stand will be open Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Christmas trees, wreaths, holiday centerpieces and crafts will be sold. The Christmas trees range in size from 3 to 10 feet.
The students involved assist in helping individuals select a Christmas tree and placing the tree in their car. The initial sales of the tree are done by the students themselves.
The income earned from this fundraiser supports the SOP, which is the marching band and color guard program here at CCHS. The program has around 150 students. They attend competitions, perform at school, participate in parades and host concerts to showcase the members’ talents. All proceeds support the SOP in covering the cost of fees for clinicians, competition entries, the truck, the trailer and props.
The tree stand is located by the entrance of the CCHS senior lot. The Band Parent Association (BPA) works in cooperation with the students to coordinate the fundraiser. Members of the BPA volunteer at the stand by managing the payments, cutting down the trees and assisting the student volunteers when needed.
“My assignment is to oversee the fundraiser, place orders, assign volunteers and to help where help is needed,” BPA Director of Operations Claudia Wagner said. “Since everything [has already been] in place for so many years, the planning is very easy. Parents will be assigned for different tasks like necessary paperwork, setup of [the] tent and orders. Several parents help to make the tree stand a successful fundraiser.”
The tree stand fundraiser is one of the SOP’s most profitable fundraisers of the year.
All members of the SOP must complete two shifts at the tree stand. Shifts are two hours long and can be any time during the hours of operation. The students involved assist in helping individuals select a Christmas tree and placing the tree in their car. The initial sales of the tree are done by the students themselves.
“I like volunteering because it fosters the Christmas spirit in our program while we still are making money and fundraising,” sophomore Mya Waldron said. “We help families pick out trees that we think they’d like and help make little ornaments and wreaths.”
The tree stand fundraiser is one of the SOP’s most profitable fundraisers of the year. The event has taken place for over 30 years. Local residents are provided with the opportunity to purchase their holiday decor and support the SOP at the same time.
“This is one of our biggest– if not the biggest– fundraiser we have yearly,” band parent Sharon Sigal said. “It provides a good profit which in turn is used for our band. The people in the community know that SOP has beautiful Christmas trees every year and they are happy to come out and support our band program.”
Photo by Carly Cuoco
