Village Christian Middle School Builds Momentum Through the “Crusader Challenge”

Village Christian Middle School continued its strong fundraising tradition this year with the Crusader Challenge, raising more than $17,500 in support of exciting campus improvements and future student opportunities.

Funds raised through the event will help support a new event center, a digital marquee, and important technology upgrades within the middle school, investments that will directly benefit students, families, and staff for years to come.

A Longstanding Partnership

Village Christian Middle School has now been using PledgeStar for four years, incorporating the platform into two annual fundraisers: the fall “Book It” Readathon and the spring Crusader Challenge.

For Karina, who has led fundraising efforts for the past several years, the transition to PledgeStar originally began at the elementary school level.

“We first used a different platform, but realized PledgeStar made more sense financially because the other site was taking much more of our proceeds,” Karina explained. “We switched to PledgeStar, and now both the elementary and middle school use it.”

Strong Participation Across Families

This year’s Crusader Challenge saw impressive engagement from the school community:

• Over 90% of those registered online raised money

• 85% of participants sent out donation requests

Families found the registration and donation process simple and straightforward, which helped make participation easier across the board.

“The families found it incredibly easy, and I received no questions regarding help,” Karina shared.

Organized, Efficient, and Easy to Manage

For organizers, one of the biggest advantages was how accessible and organized everything felt throughout the fundraiser.

“Any reports that I need to run are easily accessible, and the staff support is ready to help whenever I need it,” Karina said.

She also highlighted how helpful the prize reporting features were, especially the ability to sort and organize information using different filters such as grade level or amount raised.

“The prize report was very helpful, and being able to group it by different filters made things much easier to manage.”

The clean layout and user-friendly design also stood out throughout the event, helping both families and administrators navigate the fundraiser smoothly.

Another detail that left a lasting impression was the responsiveness of the PledgeStar support team.

“PledgeStar support is delightful and answers any questions shockingly fast,” Karina noted.

That level of support helped the event run smoothly from start to finish and gave organizers confidence throughout the process.

Looking Ahead

With another successful Crusader Challenge completed, Village Christian Middle School continues to build momentum toward meaningful campus improvements while strengthening participation within its school community.

From strong family involvement to streamlined organization behind the scenes, this year’s event showed how the right tools and a dedicated community can come together to create lasting impact.

The CDMHS Basketball Boosters are once again seeing strong results from their annual Free Throw Challenge, raising more than $32,500 and counting, already surpassing last year's total of $31,181. As one of the basketball program's most important fundraisers, the event provides critical financial support while bringing players, families, and supporters together around a shared goal.

Although this is Brian's second year overseeing the fundraiser from start to finish, the booster club has trusted PledgeStar for nearly a decade. For him, the platform has made organizing the fundraiser both efficient and dependable.

"I've been extremely happy with how our program has been run," Brian said. "Everything has been great."

Helping Booster Clubs Focus on Their Teams

Unlike many school-wide fundraisers, booster clubs often rely on a small group of parents to manage registration, donations, reporting, and communication while also supporting practices, games, and team events. Having a platform that simplifies those responsibilities can make a significant difference.

Brian shared that several fundraising companies have approached the basketball program over the past year, but he has continued to stick with PledgeStar.

"I've turned down other companies that have approached us, and we will continue to work with you guys."

In fact, Brian has recommended PledgeStar to several other organizations at the school and even introduced it to another local high school's basketball booster program after seeing how easy it was to send donation requests and collect contributions.

Saving Time Where It Matters Most

One feature that stood out this year was the ability for returning families to import donor contacts from the previous year's fundraiser.

For busy parents, what could have been a time-consuming process became something that took only a few clicks.

"That feature alone saves so much time," Brian said.

Using the same email address from the previous year automatically populated past donor contacts, allowing families to quickly review their list, make any updates, and begin sending requests without having to rebuild everything from scratch.

For a booster club managing dozens of student athletes, those time savings add up quickly.

Keeping Players Engaged

While the boosters organize the fundraiser, the coaching staff plays an important role in encouraging participation.

Each player is expected to send at least 20 donation requests, with coaches providing regular reminders throughout the campaign. If players fall behind, the reminders sometimes come with a little extra motivation on the basketball court.

Adding to the excitement are grade-level leaderboards, which allow players to see how each class is performing throughout the fundraiser.

The friendly competition has become another way to keep students engaged while encouraging everyone to contribute to the team's success.

Straightforward Tools That Make a Difference

Brian also praised the platform's ease of use, noting that both the setup process and day-to-day management have been simple to navigate.

"The dashboard is pretty straightforward," he said.

He also highlighted the responsiveness of the PledgeStar team, sharing that questions are answered quickly and support is always available when needed.

Those efficiencies allow booster club leaders to spend less time managing spreadsheets and administrative tasks and more time supporting the student-athletes and the basketball program.

Looking Ahead

With donations continuing to come in, this year's Free Throw Challenge has already built on last year's success and is helping position the CDMHS Basketball Boosters for another strong season.

For Brian, the decision to continue using PledgeStar has been an easy one.

After seeing the platform save time, simplify the fundraising process, and make it easier for families to participate, he plans to continue using it in the years ahead while recommending it to other booster organizations looking for a reliable fundraising solution.

Lagway Elementary’s annual Color Run brought students, families, and staff together for another energetic day of school spirit, ultimately raising more than $23,000 and surpassing the school’s original goal of $20,000.

Funds raised through the event will go toward new playground or learning equipment, with students themselves helping decide what the school will purchase through a campus-wide voting process.

A New Approach to Fundraising

This year marked Lagway Elementary’s first time using PledgeStar after previously hosting two Color Runs with another fundraising company. According to PTO coordinator Rachel, one of the organization’s biggest priorities this year was finding a platform that allowed the school to keep more of what they raised.

“One of our bigger goals as a PTO was to save costs going toward the vendor,” Rachel explained. “That was honestly one of the biggest draws for us.”

Lagway Elementary is still a relatively new school, having only been open for five years, and this was just the third Color Run in school history.

User Friendly for Families and PTO Leaders

As the PTO researched different fundraising platforms, Rachel said many companies felt overly sales-focused or lacked tools specifically designed for schools. PledgeStar stood out because of its straightforward setup, reporting features, and school-centered design.

“It felt built for fundraising,” Rachel shared. “The interface felt user friendly both on the PTO side and on the family and donor side.”

The reporting tools also made a significant difference for organizers, especially when tracking incentives and prizes for students.

“Being able to see the reporting and know what prizes we had to award was really helpful,” she said. “Other fundraising companies we looked at didn’t have things like that built in.”

Rachel also noted that the responsiveness of the PledgeStar support team helped make the transition smooth.

“We didn’t have any major issues, technical or otherwise, but when we did have questions, PledgeStarwas really quick to respond,” she said. “Usually within the hour or just a couple hours, and that was really appreciated.”

Investing in Future Campus Improvements

Although Lagway Elementary had already hosted a successful fundraiser earlier in the school year, the PTO still wanted the Color Run to support projects that students would directly benefit from and feel excited about.

This year’s funds will go toward new playground or learning equipment, with students helping guide the decision-making process through a school-wide vote organized by the principal.

“The teachers identified playground equipment or some type of learning equipment as something they’d      really like to add,” Rachel shared.

Rachel also explained that while the PTO wanted to be mindful of families financially, the fundraiser still provided an important opportunity to build school spirit and continue investing in the student experience.

“Extra money is always nice to have in reserve too,” she added.

By involving students in choosing future additions to campus, the fundraiser became more than just a way to raise money. It also gave students a voice in helping shape their school environment.

Looking Ahead

Following a successful first year with PledgeStar, Lagway Elementary plans to continue using the platform in future fundraisers.

“We definitely plan on utilizing your platform in the future,” Rachel said.

For a growing school focused on balancing community engagement with thoughtful fundraising goals, this year’s Color Run proved to be both a financial success and a positive experience for families, staff, and students alike.