THIS is the way to fundraise for a Catholic school or parish; where parish students, priests and community are engaged and involved 200%!!!
You don’t think students at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic school and church in Beloit, Kansas, aren’t gonna remember the epic 79.6-foot basketball swisher dunk made by their parish pastor Fr. Jarett Konrade 50 years from now?!!! You bet they’ll remember!
And we bet that those same kids are going to be sending THEIR kids to Catholic school 20 years from now because not only did they get a great education in their Faith and in life, but perhaps even more memorable in those 
young minds is… “remember when Fr. Jarett dunked that basketball…?!”
The imaginative feat landed Fr. Jarett in EWTN’s “images of the week.” Even better, check out the kid-perspective Instagram reel post and you’ll see the Catholic school pastor-kid energy for yourself!
Two years ago their church tower burned down
CNA-Two years ago, Fr. Konrade’s parish suffered a fire in one of its church towers, and parishioners are still raising money to pay for the repairs.
Creative ‘Giving Tuesday’ Fundraising Plan
On Nov. 7, 2023, Konrade announced a creative way to raise funds ahead of the #iGiveCatholic GivingTuesday on Nov. 28 — a “foosketball” challenge (a mix of foosball and basketball).
For several weeks ahead of GivingTuesday, Konrade and Father Andrew Rockers, associate pastor of the parish, took part in challenges to encourage donations while giving students at the school something to cheer for. The two went head to head in “foosketball” and a one-on-one basketball game.
But it was a trick shot from Konrade that made this Catholic community’s record book.
Instagram post by school’s high school students
In a video shared on the school’s Instagram, two high school students said that Konrade would be attempting to make “the longest [basketball] shot ever by a priest on a playground.”
After 85 attempts, standing from a fire escape 76.9 feet away, Konrade found the basket with his basketball and an eruption of cheers followed the impressive shot.
WOW! Fundraising Results
Through their #iGiveCatholic campaign and a matching grant, St. John’s raised $45,822.24 for the parish and $274,882.21 for the school, bringing their grand total to $320,704.25.
Fun, Motivating Milestones
Along the way, the school reached several milestones in terms of funds gathered. At $50,000, the students were treated to a movie sponsored by a small business in Beloit.
The milestone of $75,000 and $100,000 means several administrators and teachers will spin a “Wheel of Good/Bad Fortune” on Jan. 7, 2024. The wheel includes “good” items — such as gift cards to local restaurants — as well as some “not so good” items such as the ice bucket challenge, eating cream pie with no hands, boiled or raw egg roulette and milking a goat.
Since $125,000 was raised, Konrade will be going skydiving.
Finally, Bishop Jerry Vincke of the Diocese of Salina, Kansas, promised to walk from Glasco, Kansas, to St. John’s Parish as part of the fundraiser. This walk will take him more than six hours. In a video shared on Instagram, he said he will complete it before St. John’s inauguration of their restored church on Jan. 7, 2024.
RELATED RESOURCES:
- Private citizens raise more than $20 million in three days to rescue Christians from Afghanistan– Catholic Business Journal
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