Fundraiser Guaranteed Not to be a Drag

Chase away the chill in the air with a hot night, Thursday at 5 p.m., at Shorewood High School.

The Miss Shorewood Drag Beauty Pageant will feature male athletes from the high school, dressed in ball gowns and heels, strutting their way down the runway to raise money for charity. After three winners are selected, a live auction will ensue, with audience members able to bid high and often for their favorite dinner date. Audience members bid (bring your checkbooks) for a tax-deductible chance to “noodle” with their date at the pasta dinner directly following the event in the cafeteria/youth center. So, $8 for the wild night plus dinner.

The pasta dinner itself will prove to be a spectacle. Pasta, veggies and bread will accompany the cast and crew of the Miss Shorewood Pageant. The three winners will dine with their dates at wonderfully festooned tables in their honor. The dinner is $5 payable at the door. All are welcome to the dinner, slated to begin at 6 p.m. in the youth center, or when the pageant comes to its conclusion.

Why all this mayhem?

Every year, Shorewood High School Student Council members join forces with the school officials and conduct a fundraiser of their choice. With a proven track record of success, this year's council has picked an interesting group to support, and has generated quite a comprehensive plan to both raise funds and make a significant impact in two communities.

This year's effort is Shorewood High School itself, which will face over $1.9 million in budget cuts, felt by teachers and students. However, there is a twist. The students were not satisfied to simply fundraise for the high school and have identified a more in-need and affected Milwaukee Public School, and are co-fundraising for the Clarke Street School, a K4-8 elementary school.

Not only will the Shorewood group be raising money to split between the two schools, they are going to provide enrichment services for Clarke Street. Shorewood student volunteers will bring orchestra, choir, and reading experiences to the school, and will host a school supplies drive for them, as well.

In addition, based on past success with Clarke Street students, according to administrator Janell Herro, they greatly benefit from the ability to get out and see the work of other students in shows. To answer this need, the Shorewood students will raise money to pay for the buses to bring the Clarke Street students to Shorewood to see a production of “Ragtime,” the spring musical this year. The drama department as part of the fundraising effort is donating this show.

“These are really altruistic kids,” Shorewood Student Council Advisor Julie Grisar said. “They are the ones who remind me that it’s more than the money, but the community, values and the quality of public education that matter. This is 100 percent the students’ undertaking. They’re working on all parts of this, down to the cooking of the dinner on Thursday.”

The joint Shorewood/Clarke Street fundraisers have begun at the school, beginning with Penny Wars and two Teacher Dodge ball games.  The big event that has everyone talking this week, which the public is encouraged to attend, is going to be the Miss Shorewood Pageant and Pasta Dinner. What makes it unique is that it is a drag beauty contest, complete with runway, talent and question and answer competitions. The judges will be audience applause, and three winners will be named.

A new initiative with the fundraiser this year is to put junior students in charge of the major event, in order to prepare them for leadership roles next year. Molly Hopkins, an eleventh-grader at Shorewood, has shown inspiring leadership and attention to detail with the event.

“I have been amazed by how nice people are. It is really a big deal for guys to do this, and they’re stepping up,” Hopkins said.

“Molly Hopkins has planned this Pageant and Pasta Dinner, she is the true ‘Miss Shorewood’ here,” Grisar said.

More events are being planned for the rest of the semester, including a Capture the Flag game, a Beach Boogie Student Dance and a Teacher/Senior student basketball game. The second very large event for the Shorewood community is a carnival, which will be held on the Atwater Elementary School grounds on Saturday May 21, noon to 5 p.m. This fundraiser will include games, inflatables, food, face painting and live music. Finally, the third and end-of-year event, which is also open to the community, is "Shorewoodstock," a music festival showcasing six student bands, held in the auditorium June 3 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Student Council Advisor, Julie Grisar, at jgrisar@shorewood.k12.wi.us.