By Steve Gust for The Oklahoman
EDMOND — History was made Friday as Edmond North High School concluded its fundraiser, BALTO, by announcing it had raised a grand total of $708,748.
Most of the money will be donated to the nonprofit Fields & Futures, which builds athletic fields for needy campuses in the Oklahoma City school district. The group’s co-founder, Tim McLaughlin, said athletic fields will be built at Roosevelt Middle School, 3233 SW 44.
The total announced during Friday’s final assembly is a record among the three Edmond high schools. Last year, Edmond Memorial High School raised $701,334 for the Angels Foster Family Network, eclipsing the $605,000 North had raised for Hearts for Hearing a few weeks earlier.
Edmond Santa Fe and Edmond Memorial have yet to hold their drives this year. Five percent of the money raised by each of the high schools will be donated to a “common thread” nonprofit, which this year is Edmond Public Schools Foundation.
After the total was announced, North’s 2,600 students heard from McLaughlin.
“Well done, Huskies,” McLaughlin said. “This is just unbelievable.”
The initial grand total from the BALTO, or Bring a Light to Others campaign, was $354,374. McLaughlin said he was able to put together matching donors to contribute the rest.
“This will be the first time these students will be able to play in front of family and friends,” he said. “That will have an amazing impact on the Roosevelt community.”
He said fields also will be built for Little League, and the work will allow sports to be played by eight elementary schools that feed into Roosevelt Middle School.
‘Where magic happens’
The assembly was a high-energy event, led by co-chairmen Emily Humphreys, Cameron Cato and Katie Cheap.
Before revealing the final tally, they announced school club donations as well as individual contributions.
While the donations were being announced, McLaughlin beamed.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of building,” he said.
“We may even dome this,” he joked.
The serious side to Fields & Future is the group’s goal of laying strong foundations for youngsters, he said.
“This is where magic happens. Sports are a positive activity for teens. The more they play, the more they stay and then graduate.”
For North, it was the 21st edition of BALTO. In 1995 when it started, $5,000 was collected for an ill teacher.
Cheap said she was thrilled with the experience of helping to lead the cause.
“This has been wonderful and so so worth it,” she said. “I’m going to be a senior next year and will help but I really want someone else to experience how special this is.”
Cato urged fellow students to continue to give back.
“Please dedicate yourself to always keep helping,” she said.
Humphreys thanked the Roosevelt students who made the bus ride to North’s campus for the assembly.
“Thank you, Roosevelt,” she said. “You’ve impacted us more than you’ll ever know.”
Principal Jason Pettenger said BALTO week teaches a special lesson.
“We look forward to this all year,” he said. “This is part of a mission statement of the relentless pursuit of excellence in scholarship, leadership and service and this is service.”
Superintendent Bret Towne also attended and commended Edmond’s high schools for giving back to the community.
Photos by Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman
