Elyria Catholic Community Raised Their Paddle for Performing Arts Center

Greetings from Elyria Catholic,

In the midst of stay at home orders and unprecedented economic downturn, Elyria Catholic High School pushed forward with hope and reinvented its annual gala to raise over $87,000 for renovations to its Performing Arts Center. The 2020 Forward Virtual Gala was held on Saturday, April 18th. Originally designed to be a Casino Royale themed event with a live casino, it was quickly transformed into a virtual experience to follow the strength and example set forth by teachers, students and businesses to engage remotely and safely. The event included a virtual happy hour using the widely popular Zoom video conferencing platform and then hourly emails and social media posts to Elyria Catholic’s many constituents. The first hour of communication featured Principal, Suzanne Lester, who shared how Elyria Catholic students have excelled during this school year and continue to move forward with hope during remote learning. In the next hour, teacher and Drama Director, Kevin Juguilon walked everyone through the school’s new vision for a renovated Performing Arts Center. There was also an hour dedicated to honoring this year’s  Distinguished Alumni, Young Alumni and Our Lady of Grace Benefactor award winners. The evening concluded with Elyria Catholic students from the cast of  The Addams Family, originally scheduled to perform in March, singing an excerpt from the musical together, each from their own homes in a virtual format. 

To raise the needed funds to renovate their Performing Arts Center, the event included a week long online silent auction that opened on Easter Sunday and a ten hour “paddle raise” supported by a matching gift. Dr. Nicholas and Maryann Ksenich, whose sons Nicholas '10 and Ryan '12 are EC graduates, offered a matching gift to inspire participation in the “paddle raise” and over $27,000 in gifts were made throughout the day. The event also featured sideboard raffles that paid tribute to the school’s former Pot of Gold fundraisers. All raffle drawings were filmed and then posted on social media. All of the businesses who had chosen to support the event with advertisements or auction item donations were recognized in a digital event program available on the school’s website.

“The real heroes of this story are the amazing members of the Elyria Catholic community”, said Michelle Hoffman, Director of Advancement. “All six sponsors, Elyria Plastic Products, the Class of 1957, Barnes Wendling CPAs, Luxury Heating & Air Conditioning, Midwest Siding, and Old Republic Title remained committed to EC students even as the event changed to a virtual format and economic circumstances declined. All of the individuals who had purchased tickets before the original event was cancelled were offered full refunds, but most offered their ticket price as gifts.” In grateful appreciation, Elyria Catholic gave all paid guests 24 hour early access to the auction, entry into an Early Bird Raffle for $1,000 and a deck of Elyria Catholic playing cards commissioned as favors for the event. 

The students, faculty and staff of Elyria Catholic High School are humbled by and grateful to all who supported this event. Their generosity has given EC hope as the community looks forward to a time when they can gather together again in celebration in the newly renovated Performing Arts Center. 

Click HERE to go to the Performing Arts Center Page