Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
STUDENTS OF Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School engage in some lively summer exercise on a rainy Friday in the community room of the Wakefield municipal building. Thanks to more than $27,000 raised from a local group called 4 the Kids, the community room has been transformed in the past year to serve a dual purpose as a practice gym. Playing volleyball are, from left, Julia Tarro, 16, and Kayla Zeckovich, 12. Behind them, at left, Emily DelFavero, 10, shows great form dribbling while her brother, Antonio DelFavero, 14, prepares to toss a basketball into the hoop. Meanwhile, siblings Noah Brown, 16, and Kaitlyn Brown, 9, stand ready to take a turn. The large, netted area to the right is a batting cage, which will be set up for use during spring season baseball practice.
By P.J. GLISSON
Wakefield - Early last year, there was a recognition among local citizens that younger athletes at Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School were not getting enough practice in their chosen sport.
Mark Lane, the school's athletic director, told the Daily Globe that it was "tough" to give every level of students the attention they needed when he and other coaches had to prioritize varsity-level athletes.
He estimated that at least half of the school's nearly 300 students are involved in some sort of sports and concluded that second through sixth graders paid the price in not getting enough practice time.
"That's our elementary basketball program," he said.
Hence, an initiative called "4 the Kids" was created, and it was based, coincidentally, in the driving force of just four members: Peter Koruga, Dale White, Paula Koruga and Amy Tarro.
"We didn't know it at the time, but we both went to Mark," said Peter Koruga regarding the concern he and White had about inadequate practice.
Directly afterward, Tarro and Paula Koruga joined the effort, and they determined that the community room of Wakefield's municipal building would be an ideal place to create a second gym for the kids to use.
With the blessing of city and school officials, 4 the Kids raised more than $27,000 in a single year, from the spring of last year to this year.
According to Paula Koruga, the exact total was $27,312.
During a Friday interview at the municipal building in Wakefield, Tarro and Peter Koruga explained how the money was raised to fund all of the following upgrades in the municipal building's community room:
-A new gym floor with athletic markings.
-Backboards with basketball hoops.
-A volleyball net.
-A basketball rack and a volleyball bin, each holding multiple balls.
-A baseball batting cage that stretches across one side of the gym, allowing participants to use a regular bat and ball to throw at the standard distance between a pitcher and a batter/catcher.
-An electronic monitor that provides a digital reading of students' activities in the gym. (Placed on the municipal building's entry wall, just outside of the gym, the monitor also displays announcements from the city.)
How the funds were raised
Four fundraisers helped to cover the costs.
The first fundraiser was the Matt Ahonen Memorial Softball Tournament during Fourth of July activities in the summer of 2018. That was followed in the same year by a spaghetti feed in September and a pork feed in October, both in the community room.
The fourth fundraiser, which was another pork feed, was in March of this year at Wakefield's VFW Post 9084.
"Every one of our events drew more than we expected," said Koruga of attendance.
The functions also included 50/50 raffles, and individual donations also were welcome all along via First National Bank or a GoFundMe page.
"There was a lot of that," said Koruga in terms of personal contributions that were made, for instance, in memory of a loved one.
"If it wasn't for the community, we couldn't have done this," said Tarro, who added of local residents, "They'll do anything for the kids."
She emphasized that volunteer labor also made each of the outreaches possible. Volunteers, for instance, sold the 50-50 tickets, prepared all of the food sold, set up fundraising venues, and cleared and cleaned afterward.
In coincidental timing, the city also funded replacement of community room windows and painted the entire area.
The gym, which can be used at no cost for school practice, was staged Friday to show the full effect with all of the equipment.
Wakefield-Marenisco superintendent Jason Gustafson, as well as all city officials, have expressed gratitude for the results, as well as excitement.
"The batting cage will help a lot, from Little League on up," said Lane regarding the related netting that will be set up for spring practice each year.
"Springs have been so rotten here," he added, noting that the batting cage now will allow students to get an early start on practice without having to wait for snow to melt and muddy ground to dry.
The community room also will retain its ongoing status as a multipurpose room. Traditionally, it has been used for larger government sessions or for municipal social events, since an adjacent kitchen makes it possible to prepare food in large quantities. Senior citizens and other residents also have used it to walk around for exercise.
City residents also may rent the space under terms agreed upon by the city. For instance, members of 4 the Kids said a group of adults rented the gym to play Sunday evening basketball during the winter. Other citizens rent the room for parties.
In Koruga's words, the fundraising initiative accomplished "everything we set out to do" and, hence, now has ceased to collect funds or to operate.
He and Tarro expressed multiple thanks to persons who donated and attended fundraisers, and to volunteers and to other supportive members of the school and community.
As Lane concluded, "We've got a great little town of people here, no question."
