Rockland pack volunteers report about $97,000 raised for classrooms, field trips and community aid

Representatives of three parent packs told the Rockland School Committee on Monday, June 9, that they raised significant sums this school year to support students, teachers and local families.

The parent organizations — Esten Pack, Phelps Pack and Rogers Middle School Pack — reported fundraising, described how funds were spent and thanked local businesses and volunteers for support. Committee members and district staff praised the packs’ volunteer recruitment and community outreach.

“We did six fundraisers this year,” said Lauren Tesano, Esten pack representative. Tesano and Nicole Murphy said Esten’s activities — including a fun run, a coin-drive “turkey feather” fundraiser and passive textile bins — raised “right around $13,000 for the year,” which the pack used for classroom supplies, kindergarten field-trip buses and community support. Murphy said the turkey-feather drive paid for Thanksgiving dinners for three local families and that the pack sponsored a middle-school student for the district’s Philadelphia trip.

“We ended up bringing in about $78,000 between fundraisers and other events we’ve done,” said Heather Pratt, a Phelps pack representative. Pratt described a large-year fundraising mix that included a name-the-circle campaign (about $17,000), a fun run that raised about $24,000, restaurant nights and passive textile-bin income. Pratt said Phelps used proceeds for teacher luncheons and classroom supplies, paid for buses and chaperones for multiple grade-level field trips, donated books and teacher wish-list items from the book fair and delivered 1,200 pounds of personal-care items to the Rockland food pantry.

Representatives of Rogers Middle School said their pack raised roughly $6,000 this year, with the Shamrock Classic as the largest single fundraiser at more than $4,000. Allison (pack representative) said the group was able to provide teacher breakfasts and lunches, include cafeteria staff in appreciation events and commit to helping cover some grade-level field-trip costs next year.

A school committee member noted that volunteer involvement is as important as money. “It’s well beyond the money. It’s the involvement,” the member said, praising packs for bringing parents into school activities.

The committee’s agenda included a listing of completed fundraisers for the record; the chair said approvals were procedural and intended to share the details with the committee and the public.

The packs thanked local businesses named during the meeting — including local restaurants, Rockland Garden Center and other community donors — and invited continued volunteer participation ahead of the next school year.