Dollars for Scholars Talent Show and Auction raises $1380

By Gazette-Tribune • March 16, 2008 9:21 pm

Photo by Amy Veneziano

High school student Jessica Santana sang “My Immortal,” a song by the band Evanescence. Santana is in the OHS choir and sings for her church as well.

Photo by Amy Veneziano

High school student Jessica Santana sang “My Immortal,” a song by the band Evanescence. Santana is in the OHS choir and sings for her church as well.

OROVILLE – Fans of Oroville students had the chance to check out local talent on stage and on the auction tables while supporting scholarships March 4 at the high school commons.

About 65 people came to the third-annual Dollars for Scholars Talent Show, which raises money for a continuing education scholarship for an OHS graduate.

The event raised $1380 total, said organizer Tedi Fletcher, a member of the Oroville School Board. The total will be split with the school’s music department, she said. That leaves the group with $690 to award to student continuing their education.

“It’s not a lot, but every little bit helps,” Fletcher said.

The Dollars for Scholars group participates with several endowments, including new support from the Gail Milligan Continuing Education Fund, Fletcher said.

Gail’s support has meant that the group is not entirely dependent on fundraisers for scholarships,” she said.

There were 48 items up for auction, including hand-crafted knitted items and quilts, a set of china and many decorative items, from bookshelves made from canoes to sculpted stone arrowheads. The highest price any item went for was $75 for a framed print, said Fletcher.

“We usually set the item limit at 50,” she said of auction items. “Otherwise we run out of room.”

The event has grown since its beginning in 2005, said organizer Amy Wise, another school board member.

“It was fantastic,” Wise said. “I’m really happy with the turnout.”

There were also 13 talent performances, ranging from classical instrument ensembles to belly dancing and covers of popular songs. Pop hit “My Immortal,” originally by Evanescence was performed by high school student Jessica Santana and “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked” was performed by OHS Music Director Heather Zosel and Don Pearce.

Ed Naillon, a technology teacher at Oroville, emceed the event.

“Oroville is full of wonderful little traditions and this is one that has cropped up in the last couple of years,” Naillon said.

The Oroville Dollars for Scholars group was established in 1994. The number of scholarships they give out depends on the number of applicants they have, said Wise.

“Demand goes up every year,” Fletcher agreed.