Dublin Athletic Booster Club is trying to assemble volunteers for the 2024-25 school year so they can continue its legacy of assisting student athletics and providing scholarships.
DABC president Ryan Mitchell reported the organization provided close to $70,000 in donations during the 2023-24 school year including $15,000 in scholarships for Dublin athletes and the purchase of items like pitching machines, a backdrop, two large canopies for track and cross country events, souvenir balls to be thrown at games, weight room equipment, jump boxes, a basketball rebounder and gift cards for the coaches to show appreciation. They also made donations to all sports and Comanche after a storm wrecked Comanche’s concession stand.
DABC did a lot but Mitchell said many people had to fulfill several roles.
“COVID threw a wrench into volunteerism across the board,” Mitchell said of the decline in volunteers in every sector in recent years. “Our main goal this year is to gain some bodies.”
Mitchell admitted the lack of volunteers last year already resulted in issues such as not being able to offer fried food at some games because they didn’t have enough people in the stands to man it. The stands were also closed at some games when they couldn’t find the volunteers to work it.
“Basketball is the biggest struggle [in finding enough volunteers] because it’s multiple nights,” he said.
“Ideally, we’d like to have a head of concessions and managers for each sports season to make schedules and ensure it’s open,” he added “It takes the load off everybody else.”
Mitchell especially encourages parents of jr. high players who would like to assist to volunteer so there can be a steady rotation and the program can get built up over several years.
“If we don’t get those steady volunteers, we’ll have to back off of some of the things we do, which ultimately will hurt the support for athletic programs as well as scholarships,” Mitchell said.
Anyone who is interested or has questions can reach out at dublintxabc@gmail.com or message DABC on Facebook. Mitchell also encouraged those interested to discuss it with DABC members like himself, Whitney Sieperda and Christine Watson if they see them around.