GHS students raise $8K-plus for Special Olympics

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By Dawn Hatfield

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — On Friday, May 27, Director Cindy Rose visited Greenville High School to receive a $8,185.41 donation check written to her organization, the Darke County Special Olympics. The money was raised by Supply Chain Management students throughout the 2021-22 school year. Their biggest fundraising event each year is the annual A Night in Hollywood event, which was most recently hosted at GHS on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Averaging nearly $8,000 per year in donations since the event’s inception in 2014-15, the Supply Chain Management students’ new lifetime total donation stands at $62,323.41.

Not only did the Supply Chain Management students plan, market, and execute A Night in Hollywood, but more than a dozen juniors and seniors also volunteered at the 2022 Darke County Special Olympics held at The Jennings Center Track and Field Complex on May 13.

Woodall, a previous graduate of but new teacher to Greenville High School, happily continues the strong partnership with Darke County Special Olympics, in which, according to OhioBPA.wordpress.com, “As part of the Virtual Awards Ceremony [in 2020] … Greenville High School was awarded the Volunteer Service Award for donating more than 5,500 volunteer hours and $10,000 to Special Olympics Ohio.”

Detailing more about A Night in Hollywood, Woodall said, “Historically, the event started as a BPA [Business Professionals of America] competition piece [eight] years ago,” Woodall added. “A big focus of BPA is supporting Special Olympics, so the group put together this night to celebrate the unique challenges and also the joy of adults and children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Most BPA chapters and regions are challenged with finding a way to raise funds for Special Olympics. We had four students who did a competition that went to Nationals, and when they got back, they decided to make it a regular event.”

At the 2022 event, Addison Hart, one of the original four GHS students who launched A Night in Hollywood said, “We started this my junior year, and we didn’t think it would be as impactful as it has been. Even though I have graduated and am in grad school right now, I am sure to make an appearance here every single year. I am really honored to be a part of that [legacy]. I thank everyone for continuing the love and support for this program.”

A Night in Hollywood’s fundraising focus is streamlined into three areas: business and individual sponsors, artwork auction, and raffle donations. Woodall and his students were quick to point out how integral the community is in supporting the event as was Darke County Special Olympics Director Cindy Rose. Rose expressed at the 2022 event how proud she is to continue the 44-year legacy of Darke County Special Olympics. “That’s what’s so amazing about this whole experience — it’s high school kids supporting our athletes… Just know that Darke County supports their Special Olympics program better than some of the bigger programs in the state. I try to emphasize that every year… it’s true; Darke County is amazing.”

Watch for the next annual A Night in Hollywood coming to GHS in spring 2023.

Contact Daily Advocate Reporter Dawn Hatfield at [email protected] or 937-569-0066.

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