| Pirate Players raise money for Ranken Jordan during performances of "Seussical" |
| Wednesday, February 19, 2020 |
Pattonville High School senior Elise Thompkins planned and produced a Minute-To-Give-It fundraising event to support the children at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital. From Feb. 13-16, the Pirate Players collected donations from audience members and raised a total of $3,433.80 to help Ranken Jordan build a new outdoor playground that is handicap and wheelchair accessible.
 Thompkins serves as a Junior Board member and volunteer at Ranken Jordan and came up with the idea during one of their meetings. “They asked if we had any fundraising ideas, and I said, ‘Hey, we have a musical coming up at our school.’”
Before the intermission of every show, the senior stage manager spoke directly to the audience.
“I mentioned one of Ranken Jordan’s big things is Care Beyond the Bedside which means getting kiddos out of bed and just playing like normal kids,” she said. “I introduced the idea of the outdoor playground and said members of the cast like Cat and JoJo will come around to collect donations.”
The concept proved to be remarkably popular. In four days, she raised almost $3,500.
“I was so blown away. It was absolutely amazing. I was not expecting that much,” she said. “I thought maybe we'd get $1,000 over the four nights, but then to get $1,000 in two nights alone? It was incredible.”
She included the entire company of “Seussical” in the event.
“They all thought it was pretty cool and the Cat carried his hat around for people to put donations into,” she said. “We had multiple cast members who had connections to Ranken Jordan so they thought it was really cool, as well.”
Thompkins’ connection is through her brother who has been attending Ranken Jordan for therapy since he was 3 years old.
The campaign raised a lot of money because she delivered the message with such personal commitment and passion.
“As a Junior Board member, we plan events for the patients or just do things like decorate Valentine’s Day cards,” she said. “We just try to do whatever it may be just to kind of brighten their experience at the hospital.”
 | ||
