Cathedral High School is proud to begin the 2023-24 school year with the Ignite the Irish Student Fundraiser! We are excited that the student fundraiser has been  such a huge success the last several years. Cathedral students will utilize personal online fundraising pages to raise money to support our tuition assistance program as well as a philanthropy fund that can be used by the student body to provide assistance to deserving groups of their choice. We believe learning to give back is an important part of a young person’s education which helps establish a lifelong connection with philanthropy.

Here’s how it works:

Each student is provided the opportunity to raise a minimum of $250 to support tuition assistance through their personal online fundraising page to support the school and the student organizations they love. They will also be able to earn a “Free Day” from school on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. Additionally, once students reach the benchmark of raising half of their goal amount, they will be permitted to dress out of uniform in jeans/sweatpants/yoga pants and a spirit shirt through September 1st! There are also prizes that will be given to the top student sellers and to classes that have great participation.

Your student will receive more details on how to access their personal fundraising page on August 18th during the kick-off and in the student newsletter. 

Important Details:

* Ignite the Irish Student Fundraiser will run from August 18th - September 15, 2023.

* Students can elect to support up to two Cathedral student activities. Student must make these selections using the Google form emailed to them on August 18th. Forms will not be accepted after September 1st.

* Classrooms will have an opportunity to win weekly prizes throughout the campaign based on highest percentage of students having met their fundraising goal.

* Students earn dress down days (spirit shirt/jeans/sweatpants/yoga pants) after raising $125 (or half of their goal amount). They will be able to dress down from time they reach $125 through Sept 1st. 

* Students may earn a Free Day from school on October 18, 2023 when they raise a minimum of $250.

Multi-student details 

  • Families with multiple students (in the same household) at Cathedral will have their total family fundraising goal adjusted based on the following schedule.

    • 2 current students - $400 minimum per family

    • 3+ current students - $500 minimum per family

Once a student raises a minimum of $250, he or she will receive:

Free Day
All students who meet the goal of raising at least $250  will qualify for this prize. The designated "free day" for students who sell their tickets is Wednesday, October 18, 2023.

Spirit shirt and jeans/sweatpants/yoga pants

As soon as a student has raised $125 (or half of their minimum goal), he or she will be able to dress in a Cathedral spirit top and sweat pants/jeans/yoga pants until Friday, September 1, 2023. Students will have a special mark in PowerSchool that will tell teachers that they have earned dress down privileges.

We encourage all students to enjoy an additional week out of uniform by dressing in the theme for each day during Homecoming/Spirit Week - September 5th - 8th.  Ignite the Irish dress down will end on September 1st however the fundraiser will continue and students should keep striving toward raising a minimum of $250 through September 15th. 

All students are eligible to designate money to their Cathedral club/sport/activity of choice:

A portion of the money each student raises will be given back to their Cathedral club/sport/activity of choice.  Students may select a maximum of two approved activities to receive a portion of their fundraising efforts.  In essence, the more money raised, the more funding that clubs/sports/activities will receive from the student fundraiser. Students MUST use the Google Form given to them via email on August 18th to select their choice(s). There will be no change in designation after September 1st at 11:59pm.   

Money collection information:

We encourage all fundraising to take place online using each student's personal fundraising page. Should someone give a check donation, students can give those to Mrs. Jean Smith '97 in the Advancement Office.

Note: We strongly encourage parents to make the donation online or if absolutely necessary, write a check in lieu of sending their student in with cash. This helps with our accounting process and minimizes risks for mistakes.

What to do if you have difficulty meeting your goal:

Cathedral has partnered with Coats for Kids and has a community food pantry, St. Nick's Nook, that you can help stock!

* Earn $10.00 in Coats for Kids bucks by bringing in 3 new or gently used coats (adults, kids, babies). Bring the coats to Mr. Fogel in Room 4306  and that also can count towards your goal.

* Earn $10.00 in Food Pantry bucks by bringing in 5 items from THIS LIST. Bring the food pantry items to Mrs. Smith in the Advancement office - and that also can count towards your quota! 

* Students will receive credit for a maximum of $30.00 toward their goal for donations of food items for the pantry.

Questions/Comments:

If you have any questions about the fundraiser, contact Howard Fogel, Student Philanthropy Coordinator at hfogel@gocathedral.com or Jean Smith '97, Director of Lifelong Connections, at jesmith@gocathedral.com.