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The North Forney Band (Pride of Falcon Nation) was just moved from a UIL 5A category to a 6A category due to the number of students enrolled in the school. While the growth in our area is unprecedentedly high, the school still does not qualify for Title 1 or any other funding to offset cost. As such programs like Marching Band and other extracurricular activities are left to "fend" for themselves to survive financially.
The North Forney High School Band is only 13 years old as the school is fairly new. For a fairly young organization, they have had quite a few successes. The entire band competed at the Texas State UIL Band Championships in 2019, and while it was our only time going to state, we have placed at Area competitions several times in the past. Similarly our Color Guard were number 1 at Regionals last year but took second place at Area competition.
The Percussion section of the band is our most accomplished. They have competed at Winter Guard International (WGI Sport of the Art) in Dayton, OH twice (2019 and 2022) and brought home the Silver Medals and trophies both times on the World Stage (https://www.wgi.org/2022-percussion-concert-class-finalist-recaps/). They were also invited to perform at the 2021 Midwest Clinic International Band, Orchestra and Music Conference in Chicago, IL (https://www.midwestclinic.org/performers/midwest-clinic-performing-organization?gid=8942&pyear=2021).
We are reaching out to ask for your support. This year, in addition to the funds from our school district and donations from the parents; our Band needs to raise $50,000 to help to offset the cost of expenses for the students. We cover students across 5 school campuses, from 5th to 12th grade, as we start our band program in intermediate school. That's a total of 620 students!
Here are some of the ways that the money we raise will be used:
1. We provide attire for the students such as show shirts for our UIL competition, baseball hats to protect their heads from the heat, band shoes, etc...
2. It also helps to offset the cost of equipment like mallets, sticks, reeds, and minor maintenance on instruments.
3. Each student is provided a meal prior to every football game or UIL competition, as often times they are missing dinner or lunch. We also purchase granola bars, gatorade and 1/2 gallon water jugs for each student so that they can stay hydrated in the Texas heat.
4. We have a scholarship program for students from impoverished homes. The scholarship offsets the cost of private lessons with an instrument teacher, master classes for all students in the different sections and sometimes even necessary band fees if the parents simply cannot afford to pay. The scholarship program extends to students who cannot afford the cost, but needs to travel with the band for major performances like the ones mentioned above. During the 2021-2022 school year, we spent $24,216 on private lessons, master classes and techs.
5. We also try to provide our students with growth opportunities. This school year we will be taking the students to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL where they will be able to participate in workshops via the Disney Institute. While students will participate in fundraisers to raise the majority of the money for their travel, we still need to pay for the workshops.
As you can see, a donation from your organization will go a long way in helping these students succeed. Our class of 2021 had 32 graduates from the band program. Several received scholarships because of their talents and can be seen playing in the bands at the University of Alabama, Oklahoma State University, Texas A&M, Texas A&M Commerce, University of Texas (Dallas Campus) and University of North Texas in Denton.
Your gift will be acknowledged on all our band booster social media pages (we will include any tags) along with acknowledgment on our sponsor page of our website. Our fundraising goals for the 2022-2023 school year is $70,000.
