With another school year winding to a close, the GIFTS Foundation held its annual gathering on Saturday, March 9. The celebration became a real who’s-who as the St. Clair community and its supporters dressed up in elegant dresses and suits for Hollywood Nights–a theme that featured an entertaining evening of murder and mystery. And, of course, generosity seemed to flow just as much as the champagne and wine.
Since 2016, the St. Clair GIFTS Foundation has made supporting the brilliant young minds of St. Clair students their primary focus. While the Athletic Backers assists student-athletes with new equipment, jerseys, and others, GIFTS saw a need to provide aid to students who flexed their academic or artsy muscles instead and have helped raise over 118,000 dollars in just eight years. Additionally, they have awarded over 22,500 dollars in scholarships for students. Sara Will is the Treasurer of GIFTS, and she explained how the organization has played a huge role in supporting the students at St. Clair, “We saw this need to help the students that excelled in both the arts and academics, so Stephanie Loeffler and others founded GIFTS to aid not just the student, but the teachers that have been a part of their lives for four years.” GIFTS has helped several teachers since 2016 apply for grants that would pay for school supplies and recently assisted in the purchase of a 3D printer for the Ag Department, a tuba and chimes were purchased for the band room, scholarships for the upcoming graduating class, and much more.
The community room at Pemberton City Hall was filled with roughly 180 members of the St. Clair community and its supporters. Will detailed the level of commitment from the St. Clair community has been steadily growing since its inception, “The support for GIFTS has kept growing since we started, and what makes us happy is to see brand new faces each year. This community realizes how important it is to keep the school strong, and we can’t thank them enough for their generosity.” A silent auction was held during the event. It featured a variety of items such as a kit for making delicious s’mores, several wine and cheese baskets, a bird house built by St. Clair Mayor Marvin More, an admission slip for a camp session at Ruby Ranch, and much more. A live auction would later be held after the murder mystery event, and extravagant items like Twins tickets, Cyclone-themed Cornhole boards, a party bus tour, and much more as well. I’m going to guess absurd amounts of money were spent on these items, but hey, it’s not my wallet.
Maggie J’s catered the meal for the evening and many were treated to a delicious steak meal with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots. As the meal was served by members of the Senior Class of 2024, the night’s entertainment in the form of a murder mystery theater was put on by the Murder Mystery Company. The show included a variety of humor from the acting troupe as well as some hysterical performances by members of the St. Clair community that participated. In the end, a scorned lover and actress committed the heinous act and was hauled off to the slammer. Good riddance, I say. One highlight of the evening was given by someone who sat at my table–he was “poisoned” by the killer and had to “suddenly die.” He nailed it in one take…then proceeded to finish his meal. The acting troupe played off the audience well, and the community was great sports and took great pleasure in playfully jabbing at one another throughout the evening. The table that chose the correct killer was awarded engraved coasters.
Stephanie Loeffler spoke briefly after the performance and expressed her heartfelt gratitude to all who attended and continue to support GIFTS. Tim Collins also spoke at the gathering and mirrored similar sentiments about not just the community but GIFTS for a “year-round effort they put forward for the students at St. Clair. Life is all about making a difference, and GIFTS and their supporters have been making a big difference for almost ten years.”
Since joining the Janesville Journal, I have been a relative outsider to the St. Clair community, but it is impressive to see how much support a tiny school in a smaller town can receive for all of its students. GIFTS has been an important part of the school’s success since its inception in 2016, and with an overwhelming response to events like their annual gatherings, their success will only continue to grow.
