The Inter-Mountain photo by Anthony Gaynor A group of Elkins High School Band members and supporters recently collected money during a bucket drive on Randolph Avenue. The band is currently raising money for its trip to Walt Disney World Resort this spring.

ELKINS — The Elkins High School Marching Band is currently raising funds for a trip to Orlando, Florida where its members will perform at the Walt Disney World Resort.

The EHS band recently shifted its fundraising efforts into high gear in an effort to lower the costs for each member’s trip down south. The bands recently hosted a pair of successful events, a bucket drive on Randolph Avenue in Elkins and a bingo game at the Beverly Volunteer Fire Department.

Elkins High School band director Seth Blake said the fundraisers went very well.

“We are doing a push for fundraising to help with our trip to Disney World this spring,” Blake said. “Both the bucket drive and bingo we had over the weekend were a complete success. It’s a pretty big expense to take all these kids to Florida, so the more money we raise, the less the cost will be on the members. It’s an exciting opportunity for our members to go out of state and perform on a really big stage in front of a whole lot of people.”

Blake said the community response to the fundraisers was overwhelming, and that the band raised more than $2,500 in the bucket drive alone.

“We were able to raise some funds over the weekend and I love being out in the community talking to people,” Blake said. “Then we had a tremendous turnout for the bingo game on Sunday. The Beverly Fire Hall was packed and the kids worked hard selling tickets and other things at that event.”

Blake said the band plans a trip to Florida every four years. Its scheduled trip in 2020 was canceled due to COVID, but they were able to return to the Sunshine State in 2022.

“Our last trip to Florida was awesome,” Blake said. “Disney World does a great job of making sure you feel at home, even though you are a long way from home. They really accommodated everything we needed and the kids played great and had a great time. It’s a big opportunity for kids who might not have an opportunity to travel outside of the area. This trip will give them a chance to see some things they might not get to otherwise.”

Blake said band members will be out selling band cards in December, and noted there will be fundraising efforts during the band’s concert on Dec. 15 at EHS. The Elkins Middle School eighth-grade band is also scheduled to perform at that event.

“During our concert, we will have a bake sale and some silent auction items to bid on,” Blake said. “The big thing is for folks to keep their eyes open on social media, because our band parents are always sharing a lot of information about what fundraisers we are doing. We appreciate any support the community is willing to give us.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the band’s trip to Florida can do so by mailing it to Elkins High School or calling Blake at EHS during school hours.