The dedicated women of the Hillsdale College club soccer team, who went from Hello-Kitty duct-taped jersey numbers to obtaining legitimacy as a club team by joining the Women’s Midwest Alliance Soccer Conference (WMASC) in the span of two years. They are now faced with their next challenge: money.
The answer: hosting a silent auction on Monday, April 15 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Grewock Student Union.
Senior Kyra Moss, social chair of the women’s club soccer team, said, “Basically we do need the money to survive as a team and so that is where part of our money is going to come from. We have ten games scheduled, because we are now a part of a league, so we have to be able to go to the games and have appropriate attire for the games.”
With 10 games scheduled during the Fall 2013 season, the women are now required to pay for a start up fee, traveling costs, referees, Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Medical Technicians, and uniforms that represent the college’s Charger blue and white.
“Who wouldn’t want to help the women out?” said Jeffery Rogers, the women’s club soccer team adviser and the Assistant Dean of Men. “They are going to need money now that they are officially in a league. In my experience, silent auctions are just a good money generator and the thing about silent auctions is that they have to be out of the box. They have to be unique things people are interested in and not just your grandma’s cookies.”
Seeking donations from the Hillsdale College community, the women’s club soccer team is auctioning off over 20 unique items.
Junior Geneva Oster, president of the women’s club soccer team, said, “Truthfully, Hillsdale College has seen about four or five auctions this year, but this one is truly unique because not only are we asking professors to donate books or dinner, but we are also reaching out to them and asking them to share their hobbies with others. Additionally, we have asked different staff members from the college, whether at Central Hall or in Moss Hall, to donate different items or gifts. We have not only talked to adults about this, but we have also asked our fellow talented students to share what they love to do with others around them.”
Items to be auctioned include, but are not limited to, a signed copy of both Mr. Miller’s book, “The Big Scrum,” and Dr. Wolfram’s book, “A Capitalist Manifesto;” a pizza dinner for four at Dr. Barbara Bushey’s home made by the pizza king himself, her husband Kerry Laycock; an evening of cigar tasting with Dr. Dutton Kearney; a one hour massage session offered by the Health Center; a family photography session with senior Maria Diodati; babysitting hours from freshman Katherine Leymaster; a one-hour tennis lesson with sophomore Morgan Delp; a Mary Kay party for up to four people with senior Amy Jones; soccer lessons for one month from vice president of the women’s club soccer team, sophomore Larissa Yashko; and a skill session with Hillsdale College football players senior Steven Embry and junior Tim Hornak.
Rogers is offering the very tempting experience of going to the top of Central Hall, legally. “I will open up Central Hall and take someone up to the top of Central Hall. And this is the legit way, any other way can get you kicked out of here, but this is the official way. I will take you all the way up to take pictures out looking on Hillsdale.”
Many of the items will have a starting price of either $10 or $20. The women aim to raise $5,000 to sustain their team through the silent auction, as well as donations from alumni and friends of the college.
“We just want it [silent auction] to be a very classy event,” Moss said. “And I am sure that sounds weird like ‘oh, well its going to be in the union, how classy can it be?’ And we just want it to be nice and presentable. And we want to make it that way so that professors and staff also want to come. We want to have table cloths, we want to make it nice so that it is inviting to people and open to the Hillsdale College community. Because being in the league is what we wanted and that is what we were striving for. And we got it so we know we have to work to keep that up and to make it worth our while and worth everyone’s effort that they have put in to getting us this far so we just have to make sure that we are going to represent the college well and do what we can to do well as a part of the club league.”
The weekend before the auction, on Saturday, April 13, the women’s club soccer team will be playing a game against Jackson Community College at 11 a.m. at the intramural fields.
“We are so excited about this fundraiser and are really honored to be a part of the WMASC.” Oster said. “Whether we are traveling as a team or just are up the hill studying we now represent something that is much bigger than ourselves and hopefully we will become a legacy here at Hillsdale College. Whether it be through a varsity team or just a very strong club soccer team and an outlet for young women to come to not only enjoy and grow from the academics, but also let it be an outlet for their athletic ability.”