Spectrum fundraising with doughnuts
FILE PHOTO/DAILY FORUM
In this photo, the 2016-2017 Maryville High School Spectrum show choir poses at the end of one of their songs. Spectrum will travel to Nashville in March, and in order to raise funds for the trip, they are selling doughnuts through next Tuesday.
Maryville High School’s top show choir is going to Tennessee on doughnuts.
Spectrum’s spring plans include a four-day trip to Nashville for several performances and educational opportunities, and in order to get there, each member is selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
“The doughnut fundraiser is twofold,” said vocal music director Vanessa Parsons. “The first part is that we’re selling doughnuts by the dozen to go to Spectrum’s Nashville fund.
“The second part is that we’re selling individual doughnuts during the homecoming parade next weekend, and that money will go to the new Vocal Music Booster Club that we recently created.”
The trip to Nashville is planned to run from March 1 to March 4. In those days, Parsons said Spectrum already has things planned.
“The trip starts with a stop at Belmont University where we’ll work with a clinician and do a campus tour to give the kids a look at another university,” Parsons said. “From there, we’re going to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and we’re tentatively scheduled to do a performance there.
“After that, we have a performance scheduled outside of the General Jackson riverboat dinner cruise as people are boarding and at Opry Mills,” she said. “We will also visit the Grand Ol’ Opry to view a performance, and we’re scheduling visits at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage and the Opryville shopping mall.”
Two years ago, Spectrum took a trip to Branson with similar stops. Parsons said trips like this are important for her students because it gets them out of familiar territory.
“With this trip, we have the chance to see another university and another part of the country that they haven’t seen yet or don’t normally get a chance to go to,” Parson said. “It’s not like we’re traveling to Europe, but some kids don’t have a lot of opportunities to leave northwest Missouri, and if we give students the opportunity to see another town, another university, and open up the world just a little bit more, they’re able to expand their horizons.
“We want to do tours like this about once every few years. We’d like to go to places like Chicago, California and Florida, places that we don’t get to go to on a regular basis.”
Parsons said the places they go also carry historical significance, expanding the education past performing in different venues and carrying over into social studies.
Spectrum is pre-selling the doughnuts for $9 per dozen through Tuesday, Oct. 17. The doughnuts may be picked up Friday morning, Oct. 20 at the Maryville R-II Administration building in the lower lot.
The doughnuts also can be delivered if necessary. Anyone interested in purchasing donuts can contact Parsons through the school.