Meet Marcy Bogren of Poudre High School Cheerleading Booster Club in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcy Bogren.

Marcy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I became a step-parent in 2015. A few years later when my step daughter entered high school she got into cheer. After about a year I noticed that many of the girls would get hangry after games. A little while after this observation a friend told me a book called Saturate by Jeff Vanderstelt. The tag line on the book describes the book as “being disciples of Jesus in the everyday stuff of life”. One of the examples in the book described how a church group ‘adopted’ a football team and helped them with practices, homework, scholarships, etc.

Once I got done reading the book I realized that maybe I could serve the cheer team by being the one to feed them after games. Since everything is more fun on a team, I reached out to other parents to see who might be interested in starting a booster club in the fall of 2018. The Poudre High School Cheerleading Booster team was granted 501c3 status In February of 2019. Our mission statement is: “Promote the sport of cheerleading at PHS by providing nutrition and care for the team at games and competitions, and providing financial assistance to the team when needed.”

Obviously 2020 is a strange year, and we’re trying to navigate how we will fulfill our mission in the covid-19 landscape. There are many unknowns and we are trying to remain flexible.

We just had our 3rd round of elections in June and I’m so excited about the group of ladies on the board. My stepdaughter is a senior this year, and I’m confident that the booster club will continue to serve the coaching staff and cheer program for many years to come!!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been super smooth. In the initial planning stages, one of the moms brought up starting a 501c3 specifically so we had more control over what we fundraiser for the team. None of us had started a nonprofit before and we had to figure out that process from scratch. It’s hard as booster that supports a school team because there is so much turn over in members from year to year.

Additionally, as a volunteer run organization, we’re typically farther down on the priority list as families, jobs, and school comes first. This is totally to be expected! But sometimes collaboration and feedback is slower than what it would be at a for profit job.

Poudre High School Cheerleading Booster Club – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a 501c3 organization that supports the Poudre High School Cheerleading program. One of the things I’m most proud about is that we are creating a community among the cheerleaders and their families. The first year and a half my step daughter participated in cheer I didn’t know any of the other parents. This year I know many of them by name and we have been working together to help support the team.

I think one thing that sets us apart from other booster clubs is that after tryouts we Google map all the cheerleader’s addresses and help to set up carpool groups. Cheer is a very time intensive sport, and the Poudre High School area spans north to Wellington and beyond. It’s a lot of extra driving for parents of the kids who don’t drive yet, so carpooling really helps to be able to share some of that driving responsibility.

I think another thing that has set us apart thus far is that we are more concerned about caring for the team than about making money. Of course, we need to make money to support some of our goals, but it’s really not our first priority.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I don’t know if I have thought about this before. I think success for our organization is enmeshed in how the team and coaching staff are doing.

For example. we did a garage sale as a fundraiser this past weekend and during the item sorting and sale itself many of the girls that were really quiet at the beginning started to open up. A few of the moms commented about how their kids said they were excited to get to know their teammates. The girls getting to know one another and getting comfortable around each other is a huge success to us. We were honestly more excited about the girls bonding than the money we made!

I think for our organization, the presence of community is success!

Pricing:

• We dont sell much, but we will always accept donations through our www.poudrecheerboosters.com website

Contact Info:

• Address: Poudre High School Cheerleading Booster Club
  P.O. Box 294
  Fort Collins, CO
• Website: www.poudrecheerboosters.com
• Email: secretary@poudrecheerboosters.com

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