I think it is important that kids do a service-based fundraiser because it is a good team building exercise.”

Shane Lanning

Last week we brought you information on Car Washes as a fundraiser for Raider athletics. The process is a big deal for the teams, typically raising a thousand dollars or more per car wash. The largest supporter of the car wash fundraisers is Shane Lanning. Lanning plays host for these events at his Farmers Insurance office next to McDonalds. We were finally able to connect with him after last week’s edition went to press and come to find out, there are many more opportunities scheduled before the weather gets colder.

“I have a great layout in my parking lot for these fundraisers,” said Lanning. “The horseshoe configuration gives the kids and coaches plenty of space to safely host their car wash. There is one way to come in and a separate exit, it is away from a lot of fast traffic but has enough traffic that people see it and stop by.”

Lanning was trying to figure out how long ago he started this, and he believes it was three years ago. But we know how 2020-2024 sometimes feels like a week and other times it feels like a decade, so we’ll have to go with his best guess of three years ago. He wanted to give back to the community and looked at what his resources were. So, he gave a car wash fundraiser a go and has been rocking it ever since.

“I tell the teams to show up, wash cars and leave,” he smiled. “I have a few, basic ground rules, but not too many. This is a family friendly event with mostly high schoolers.”

Those ground rules are, if the girls want to wear swimsuits, they need to be one piece, boys keep their shirts on, be respectful of the neighboring business, stuff like that. He has yet to have any issues with those things.

Lanning provides all the tools they need to do the car wash: hoses, connectors, sprayers, water, soap, sponges, towels, buckets, if they need it to wash the cars, he has it. He even uses his truck as the holder for the towel drying laundry line.

“I think it is important that kids do a service-based fundraiser because it is a good team building exercise. You have freshmen mixing in with seniors, the whole range of kids mix it up and get to know each other. They have fun with water fights or throwing a sponge at each other. I guarantee you; they will remember the fun they had getting hit in the face with a sponge more than they will remember a score,” said Lanning.

With the proper weather, teams usually raise between one thousand and fifteen hundred dollars and obviously the bigger teams tend to raise more, like football or dance team.

He loves it, and he can tell when a team has a large turnout for their fundraiser, “The parking lot is covered in dirt after the bigger car washes,” he laughed.

“We had one guy who was from Texas working at the refinery. He would come in, give the kids $100 and say ‘I’ll be back when you are done with it’ as he was walking to McDonalds. He really enjoyed doing that because the kids loved it,” added Lanning.

Lanning does not limit the fundraising opportunities to just high school sports, other community groups can schedule one too.

Here are your scheduled remaining opportunities to get out and support Raider Athletics by getting your car washed.

8/31- 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – HHS Girls Tennis

9/7 - 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – HHS Cross Country Running & Skiing

9/14 - 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – HHS Girls Volleyball

9/28 – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – HHS Dance Team