Geoffrey Yoste is the president of the Oxford Chargers Booster Club and chair of the Oxford Chargers Booster & Blues fundraising event that will be held at The Library Sports Bar on August 15th with the band Rocket 88 playing the event.
“We have over a couple dozen corporate sponsors that are supporting this event,” Yoste said. “We’re also selling tickets and our Charger parents are being given the opportunity to be hosts for the event; it’s $125 to be a host and then the tickets are $50 for individuals and $75 per couple.”
Yoste said the goal for the fundraiser was to raise $25,000 to $30,000, with all the proceeds going to the Booster Club, which supports all of the athletic teams – 22 in all.
“This money will help to supplement funding for things that their budgets don’t necessarily cover,” Yoste said. “For instance, the year before last the dance team was created and we bought the bags for them. We’ve bought bags for the basketball team and also after we got the new turf field, they had to have new flags for the four corners for the soccer team, so we paid for those. We were able to purchase a portable, mobile air conditioning unit for the football team to use on the sidelines and not only for football, but it can be used in the dugout or at tennis matches; it’s just very needed and great to have.”
Yoste said they had bought weight belts for the powerlifting team and just a host of different items that all of the athletic teams needed, but couldn’t fit into their budgets.
The Oxford Chargers Booster Club money primarily comes from the sale of Booster passes, which used to include students’ ticket sales, until last year.
“Beginning in 2014, student tickets are bought online by their parents in the school district, so that left a little bit of a shallow spot for us in being able to raise money,” Yoste said. “We still sell the Charger Swag: T-shirts, cups and sweatshirts; things like that. And that helps, but basically it comes down to when the different athletic departments ask for funding for something; do we have the money there?”
Yoste said for that reason they needed an annual fundraiser. Many people have asked him the question: why have a fundraiser now?
“And I always answer because Oxford has grown exponentially. We now have over 1,000 Charger student athletes and we have athletic budgets, but they don’t always cover what is needed, so we have to have a way to help our students. We had five state championships last year, and to compete at the highest level, you have to have the best equipment, along with the best facilities and the Oxford School District, coaches, parents and staff, are all committed to that belief. And I’m blessed to have such an active and energetic Oxford Chargers Booster Club board to help with this,” he said. “We decided to come up with an annual fundraising idea and hence Oxford Chargers Booster & Blues was born.”
Yoste said hopefully they’ll meet their goal of $25,000 to $30,000 and that money can be turned around and utilized for all of the athletic departments to satisfy needs, from swimming to volleyball and everything in between, might have.
Yoste said so far they had had a lot of great donations from local restaurants and beverage companies that will help to offset the cost for the August 15th event and also the volunteers who are helping to organize the event.
“I have about 75 of what I call “Super Charger Moms” who are helping to coordinate it all,” Yoste said. “Everybody is working hard to get the message out.”
The event starts at 8:00 p.m. at The Library Sports Bar on August 15th. Local band Rocket 88 will be performing and tickets may be purchased at both Oxford University Bank locations (Jackson Ave. and University Ave.) and also at University Sporting Goods.
Angela Rogalski is a HottyToddy.com staff reporter and can be reached at angela.rogalski@hottytoddy.com.
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