Our organization serves as a resource for cooperative effort among Home & School Associations in the Ridgewood Public Schools. Membership includes the Superintendent of Schools, all the current Home and School Presidents, five former Home & School Presidents who serve as officers, and a Member-at-Large.
News
November 21, 2018
Important Message from Federated HSA
Every year, the Ridgewood Federated Home & School Association presents one annual fundraiser to benefit our school district: the Harlem Wizards vs Ridgewood A+ Team basketball game. Federated is a cooperative board that includes current HSA presidents, plus five former presidents who serve as officers.
We are pleased to announce the 2019 date for the Wizards game will be Friday, January 25. Our event will be held at Ridgewood High School, with tip-off at 7pm. The cost will remain at $15 per ticket. Souvenirs and concessions will be sold, with proceeds donated to programs that support the Ridgewood Public Schools community.
Ticket sales will begin on Thursday, January 3 at 8pm via the Harlem Wizards website.
We are very fortunate that the Wizards game is one of Ridgewood’s most successful fundraisers. Unfortunately, we often face higher demand than the maximum capacity allowed, and we regret that there are not enough seats to accommodate everyone. We know this has caused disappointment in the past, and we have worked hard to adjust where possible. Our goal is to make sure more families have an opportunity to attend this event, while also keeping in mind that this is a fundraiser, so we have an obligation to balance our revenue and costs.
Over the last several months, we have explored numerous options, specifically:
Venue. Since our gym can only hold 850 people, we have investigated other nearby facilities. Unfortunately, moving offsite not only forces families to travel, it exposes us to facility fees, insurance costs, concession restrictions, etc., which would greatly impact the success of the event. Ultimately, this is a Ridgewood community event and fundraiser, so we decided to keep the event at RHS.
Schedule. Many parents have suggested that we add a second game. One concern with this approach is not knowing whether we have enough demand to fill another event. It is very expensive to undertake, as we need to sell an additional 400 tickets just to break even. To help gather data, the Wizards will provide a Wait List option once tickets are sold out. It will not only serve as a potential ticket redistribution service this year, it will help determine how much additional capacity could be filled in future years.
Ticketing. Some parents have suggested that tickets be distributed by lottery through the schools. We feel strongly that this is a less impartial approach than online sales, which ensures an equally fair chance to secure tickets. The most important change this year is that we have reduced the maximum number of tickets per purchase to four (4) instead of six (6). Using last year’s data, this should put approximately 100 more tickets into circulation.
Promotion. Some parents have expressed concern that their children are upset when they cannot attend an event that has been highly promoted at school, so we have decided to scale back our event promotion.
Only parents will receive announcements about the event this year, which will hopefully ease student disappointment if we reach capacity again.
We take your feedback seriously and strive to make this a positive event for our district. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach us at wizardsquestions@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support of our schools!
Sincerely,
The Federated Home & School Association Executive Board
- Melinda Cronk, President
- Kay Murphy, First Vice President
- Kelly Buchsbaum, Second Vice President
- Lauren DiMaulo, Secretary/Treasurer
- Isabelle Leluc, Member at Large
February 1, 2018
Thanks to parents, teachers and administrators for helping us realize another successful fundraiser with the Harlem Wizards! This popular event, held on January 26, 2018, raised $10,433.13! Those proceeds will be donated to the Board of Education to support the Community Outreach speaker series, and to the Ridgewood Education Foundation.