Quincy High School Leadership Class raises $20,000 for QPS Foundation

QUINCY – The annual Dream Big in Color Fun Run for the Quincy Public Schools Foundation was held as a virtual event this year due to restrictions on gathering sizes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the student-driven fundraiser made great progress in raising money for the cause of the foundation, which focuses on support of creative teaching, and funding key areas of support in the district, including curriculum, technology, athletics, and fine arts.

Sponsored by their teacher, Ben Dombroski, the QHS Leadership Class is comprised of high school juniors, who take the lead in soliciting sponsorships for the color run. The students reach out to local businesses and individuals to raise money for the foundation and help offset the costs of the event, namely color powder and t-shirts.

“I love the engagement I get from my students in this project. They really embrace the cause of raising money for our foundation, and I make it competitive for them. The winning teams, that secure the most sponsorship money, get gift cards and bragging rights!” Dombroski said.

The assignment is a real-world exercise in leadership for the Quincy High students, as they take on the mission of the QPS Foundation. They must interact with business leaders and others in the community to gain support for public education.

This year, the class raised $20,820, which is comparable to past year’s efforts, despite lower numbers of participants, due to the pandemic.

QPS Foundation Executive Director Kent Embree said, “We are deeply appreciative of our partnership with Mr. Dombroski and the Leadership Class. We feel working with them accomplishes two goals. It’s an educational experience with real-world impact. And it raises money for our cause.”

Next year, the foundation hopes to hold the event in-person as normal, looking forward to a likely increase in participants, since past years’ events have seen registration of well over 600 runners and walkers. The family-friendly fun run has a 5K route with six “color stations” where volunteers typically douse the participants in a number of shades of colored powder. Regionally, it is one of, if not the only event of its kind, creating the colorful clouds of non-toxic food-grade powder, as runners pass through.