Seahawks seek boost from club
In recent years, Cape Coral High has seen several of its athletic teams flourish. The school also has witnessed an increase in involvement among coaches, parents and the administration.
They’re now planning to take the next step to counter the financial obstacles facing athletic programs.
The school is starting a new Athletic Booster Club. There’s a general information meeting tonight at 7 in the school auditorium.
The goal is to become more unified in providing support for all the athletic teams.
“This has been talked about since I started here, but it’s never gotten off the ground,” said new athletic director Savannah Gindele, who has been at Cape for six years. “This year we’ve had a group of parents and coaches working toward putting it all together.”
Robin Whitt, one of the organizers of the club, said Wednes-day’s meeting includes accepting nominations for the board as well as having volunteer sign-ups.
“It’s basically to get the information out so we can get our membership going and find volunteers for the various committees,” Whitt said.
The non-profit organization will be comprised of parents, guardians, alumni, coaches, school administrators and community members.
Among the goals and objectives, Whitt said, are to help maintain and improve the athletic facilities, provide support and recognition for teams and athletes and assist in building school spirit.
“We started discussing it about three months ago,” said Whitt, who will have two sons enrolled at Cape next year. “The coaches and the administrators have been very much behind it.”
Several Cape coaches and parents are from the north or midwest where athletic booster clubs are common. Area schools like Mariner and North Fort Myers currently have clubs.
Though raising money is a key function, the boosters also help in building more of a close-knit support system.
“It’s not only about having big fundraisers, but also bringing all the teams together and working as a unified force,” Gindele said.