On April 11, New Life Academy in Woodbury (NLA) held its 19th annual auction and raised over $281,000 on behalf of NLA students—a record amount for the school. Also record-breaking was the number of attendees: 470, an increase of more than 100 people in the past couple of years.
In just 12 minutes, parents and grandparents raised more than $107,000 for three important school areas: tuition assistance, athletic equipment and Maker Spaces, an academic initiative providing NLA students with hands-on learning and a way to apply classroom knowledge to projects such as LEGO robots, iMotion video, 3D printing, circuitry, coding, video and sound production, art materials and digital animation.
So what changes are being put into place for the 2015-16 school year? “In general, the funds raised are for program enhancements for the classroom,” says Craig Schmalz, advancement director at New Life Academy. As for the three areas, tuition assistance helps those families that can’t afford the full price of tuition. Athletic equipment being purchased includes a climbing wall in the newly remodeled gym, batting cages and electronic devices called Fit Steps for students to wear during gym class to monitor their activity. The Maker Spaces program will use the funds for a new video production room for the school, which is being launched this fall.
Schmalz says that the numbers speak for themselves: More people are attending the auction each year and the donations are increasing alongside them, so at this rate, next year’s auction should be another successful venture.
