The Foundation of La Jolla High School has created a GoFundMe in an attempt to raise funds for an artistic element for their new stadium.
With the opening of the stadium on schedule for this fall, the school was presented with an opportunity to enhance Viking Plaza, a new entryway connecting the stadium to the campus.
“We were given this unique offer by the architects to make an artistic contribution to the walkway,” said Beth Penny, president of Foundation of La Jolla High School. “We simply could not pass that up because of a lack of funding.”
According to Penny, they unanimously decided to contact Jane Wheeler, a local artist known for her hand crafted mosaic bench artwork in Bird Rock. Wheeler has been praised for her work around the city and has completed projects with schools in the community before. Wheeler was ecstatic to begin the project and almost immediately created a mosaic crest rendering for the project.
According to La Jolla High athletics director Paula Conway, the foundation does plenty of fundraising throughout the year for a variety of projects not paid for by the school district, including sports related events.
“We are always trying to find creative and innovative ways to promote the needs of the school in a way that is appealing to our community,” Penny said.
Developing a GoFundMe seemed like a creative and efficient way to raise the money they needed.
“Not only is GoFundMe a well recognized and trusted national brand for online crowd funding but it is based in our home of San Diego,” Penny said. “Our hope with it is that we could extend our message beyond the immediate doors of the high school and appeal further into the community. “GoFundMe being online does this but we also utilized email and social media to reach those who would be interested in giving a little or a lot either to the school or because they love Jane Wheeler’s work or even simply just love La Jolla,” she said.
The school’s GoFundMe account has been up and running for nearly three weeks and has received more than $4,000. With a goal of $6,000, Penny expects they will meet that goal in no time thanks to the generous community members who have always supported the school and the athletic department for the 94 years it has been open.
Any funds raised that surpass the GoFundMe goal will be used to beautify the remainder of the stadium through projects such as painting the stands, building a press box and installing a new sound system. Remaining funds will assist any other unfunded projects the school may be interested in. Want to help?
Those interested in donating can visit gofundme.com/mosaic.