Crab feed raises $20,000 for athletics

About 200 people filed into the Saratoga Community Center on March 19 to celebrate and participate in the second annual Sports Booster Crab Feed and Raffle Fundraiser. The participants, mainly parents and administrators, paid $65 to enjoy a delicious meal of crab and pasta while supporting the athletic program. They also participated in a raffle with prizes such as tennis rackets, Giants, Warriors, and Eagles tickets, front row grad seats at SHS and RMS, college counseling, the new iPad, and a week in a beautiful Cape Cod vacation home.

Suzanne Sullivan, the event organizer, said that Sports Booster hoped to raise about $75,000 this year through member donations and events such as the Crab Feed, which represents about 25 percent of the fundraising. The fundraiser helped raise about $20,000, which will mainly be used toward field improvement, upgrades to the baseball dugouts and new equipment in the weight training room.

“I think it’s a really good way to fundraise for the sports,” said sophomore Antara Rao, who volunteered at the feed. “They’re cutting education funding in general and that means sports will suffer as well. To be able to make money that’s independent of the rest of school and that’s just for sports is going to be a big help.”

Community member Steve Dini also felt that the feed would be a great help to the sports program.

“The way the budgets are now, just any extra money helps,” said Dini. “I’m only too glad to contribute to sports because I love sports and I love to see kids play sports; they deserve the best program in the world. I like to think that the money that is spent here tonight is going towards the worthy cause of promoting sports at Saratoga High School.”

With the success of this year’s crab feed, Sullivan feels that there will most likely be another one next year. Head football coach Tim Lugo thinks that this event will grow over the years and become a “big thing.”

“It’s only the second year, and we’ve got 200 chairs filled,” said Lugo. “The school I came from, they do this every year and they’ve got 600 chairs filled, so it’s a matter of time before this thing gets bigger and we outgrow this venue. That’s going to be a big thing because there’ll be more money in the account for the boosters.”

The crab feed wasn’t held only to raise money, however, but to bring together all athletes and the people who support them.

“We want to bring the athletic community together to raise funds for SHS athletics,” said Sullivan. “This includes families of current and former athletes, friends, coaches, and SHS administrators. Obviously the primary purpose was fund raising, but the secondary goal and benefit is to put on an event that is fun, memorable, and brings the community together.”