Moore County fundraisers put support to work

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Around Moore County, fundraising rarely comes with much fuss.

Sometimes, it looks like a bucket of soapy water, a plate piled high with homemade sweets and a line of cars waiting their turn. Other times, it comes in shades of red, orange and gold, ready to brighten a front porch when fall finally settles into the hills.

And sometimes, helping out is as easy as pulling out your phone and spending a few minutes online.

However neighbors choose to pitch in, the money has somewhere important to go.

Three local fundraisers are giving Moore County neighbors a chance to support local students over the coming weeks – from the Class of 2027's Project Graduation to Moore County baseball and classroom needs at Lynchburg Elementary School.

Wash a car, grab something sweet

The Class of 2027 will take over Woodards on Saturday, Aug. 29, with a doubleheader of fundraising.

A bake sale runs from 7 to 11 a.m., followed by – and overlapping with – a car wash from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Money raised will support Project Graduation, an effort to provide Moore County seniors with a safe, sober, and memorable graduation celebration.

That makes Saturday about the easiest kind of community support there is: show up hungry, leave with a cleaner car and help make graduation a little more special for a group of local students.

A little fall color for the ballplayers

Meanwhile, the Moore County Diamond Club is getting an early jump on autumn with a mum fundraiser benefiting the Moore County High School and Middle School baseball teams.

Mums are $15 each, with orders due by Sept. 8.

The flowers are scheduled to be delivered Sept. 17, putting them in local hands just about the time porches, patios and front steps start begging for a splash of fall color.

For the Diamond Club, every mum sold helps support the players and programs behind Moore County baseball.

It is a simple trade: brighten up the house and back the home team at the same time.

Twelve minutes can help a classroom

At Lynchburg Elementary School, families have another way to lend a hand – and this one does not require knocking on doors, collecting cash or delivering boxes around town.

Students brought home Book Buddy Lanyards with information about the school's SchoolStore Program, an entirely online fundraiser designed to help provide essential tools and resources for students and teachers.

School officials say participating takes less than 12 minutes.

Families can begin by visiting SchoolStore.net and signing up through Lynchburg Elementary's fundraising page. From there, parents can send email invitations to family members, friends and co-workers who may want to support their child and the school.

After participating, students can return their Book Buddy Lanyard and Student Prize Code to school to receive a participation prize.

No face-to-face selling. No envelopes full of money to keep up with. No products piled in the back seat waiting to be delivered.

Just a few minutes online with the proceeds helping put needed resources into local classrooms.

Parents should ask their child – or check the backpack – for the Book Buddy Lanyard and fundraiser information.

Dollars that stay close to home

None of these fundraisers is especially complicated, and maybe that is the beauty of them.

Buy a cupcake. Get the truck washed. Put a mum on the porch. Send a few emails.

But behind those small acts are bigger things – a safe celebration for graduating seniors, stronger opportunities for student-athletes and more tools in local classrooms.

That is how a lot gets done in Moore County.

Not with grand gestures, but with neighbors showing up, pitching in and saying, in one way or another, we've got you.