Alex Sanchez is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Gilbert High School for AZPreps365.com.

High school sports teams do many things to promote team bonding, but nothing beats sharing a meal with teammates. Team meals are a staple in high school sports, and this is all possible thanks to the booster club’s fundraisers and events.

Gilbert High School has a booster club that promotes events to help raise money for all sports programs. Most of these events are themed based on what sports season it is, but there are other methods of donation that Gilbert has that are year-round. Some seasonal events include a golf tournament and cow chip bingo. Then there is the gold card sale that is year-round -- it serves as a rewards card that earns coupons to various stores such as Dick's Sporting Goods, Dairy Queen, and Applebee’s.

Jeff Thompson is a member of the booster club. Thompson has a son who is involved in the football program and a significant contributor to the booster events.

“At Gilbert, we take pride in our events and getting the community involved,” said Thompson. “These events help us assemble meals for our team; the boys love it.” 

When Thompson first started helping with team meals, he noticed that it was inefficient and that there were better ways to get healthy and more affordable meals for the teams. Food resources were going to waste, which translated to wasted money. 

Thompson and the other booster club members decided to make a SignUpGenius so parents could donate, and then they would use this money to order food. A parent of the team would then volunteer their home. The total amount the booster club raises and spends in a season is around $5,000. This amount is a reasonable decrease in previous years, as reported by booster members of Gilbert High School. 

“The community is very supportive and loves to come together for the team,” said fellow booster member Grant Jones. “I like the changes we made to help put these meals together; it has made a better overall experience not only for the parents but for the kids, too.”

Jones has been a member of the booster club for multiple years.

Besides team meals, the booster club helps raise money for other things in the football program, such as guardian caps and equipment. The booster club also provides funding for award banquets for all football program levels.

“The booster club helps coordinate activities such as 7-on-7 and BigMan challenge events during the summer,” Gilbert coach Derek Zellner said. “These, along with the pregame meals, help create chemistry amongst our guys.”

The coaching staff of the Gilbert football team is grateful for the support the team receives from the parents.

These events help players get into season shape and are also ways that the booster club has been able to promote school spirit for the school. These events are customary throughout the Valley amongst neighboring schools. The booster club looks to continue raising money for Gilbert’s sports program as it heads into the winter season.