By Frankie Mesec ‘20

Have you ever thought about helping a local high school band while eating your Chipotle burrito?

Last Wednesday, Sept. 25, Brother Rice and Mother McAuley’s band program hosted a fundraiser at the Chipotle on 95th and Western. If you bought anything from the Chipotle anywhere from 4 p.m to 8 p.m and mentioned the band, 33% of the profits went to the band.

This was the first time the band has done a fundraiser like this. Normally, they require the students to do some kind of work, such as sell coffee, wash cars, or serve pancakes. With this fundraiser, they just reach out to the restaurant, and a percent of the profits go to the band, minimal work required.

With this one fundraiser, the band was able to raise $235.77 from just people eating food. There will be another similar fundraiser at Portillos planned for Nov. 5.

I went to the fundraiser and got myself something to eat. Everyone there seemed to be happy helping the band while eating good food and being around friends. It seemed like a lot of people who knew about the fundraiser went to Chipotle that night.

When asking Tyler Davros, a senior band member who went to the event, how he liked the new style of fundraising, he said, “I liked it. It was something new for our band and community to experience. It really helps out our band and makes us strive to do more fundraising.”

This fundraiser had a good turnout, but was four days after the last major fundraiser, the carwash. When asking for opinions on the time frame, Jeremy Zemgulys, another senior band member who went to the event, said, “I think having a second fundraiser less than a week after the last one is goofy.” Jeremy also agreed with Tyler on his opinion on the fundraiser, calling it “chill”.

When asking about having more fundraisers similar to the Chipotle one, Julian Zubrzycki, a junior band member who did not witness the fundraiser, said, “I would like more fundraisers like this because it’s a great and easy way for the band to obtain a higher budget for the year. It’s also a way to help whatever restaurant that supports this fundraiser to have a big crowd; like about half of the band goes to the event and buys food from the restaurant.”

Overall, the fundraiser seemed to be successful, the kids in the band seemed to like it, and it looks like more of the new fundraiser style is requested amongst the band. If the band keeps doing this style of fundraiser at least once a month, they can likely raise more than they usually do without the style.