Bennett Uzpen, Reporter
@BUCourant
On Friday, March 22, the annual Color Drop was held in Waveny Park. Attendees watched with anticipation as the helicopter dropped golf balls, with hope that theirs would land the closest to the target. The Color Drop is a community tradition that began during the pandemic, which helps raise money for the NCHS Scholarship Foundation. The NCHS Scholarship Foundation gives proceeds to need-based scholarships for high school graduates.
This year’s Color Drop took place a day prior to the originally planned date due to weather. Principal Bill Egan voiced his admiration for the support the community gave. “Last minute we had to move it to the day before, and yet the entire community still came out to support it,” said Mr. Egan. “I mean there were hundreds and hundreds of people there.”
Steffi Loomis, chair of the Color Drop Committee, believes that the Color Drop is a fun community event. “People like the Color Drop because it’s really exciting to watch. Experiencing a helicopter hovering 100 feet above you and dropping golf balls and chocolate eggs is thrilling,” said Ms. Loomis. “And there’s a chance to win a really great prize, including a brand new truck.”
The Color Drop is in place of a former tradition, the annual Color Run, that took place before the pandemic. “The NC Color Drop came about when COVID shut down the Color Run,” said Ms. Loomis. “After the first year we realized it was a fundraiser that the public really enjoyed and we decided to make it an annual event.”
The Color Drop also has some advantages when compared to the Color Run. “[The Color Run] takes a lot of manpower, costs a lot more to put on, whereas the Color Drop we rely on the community’s kindness to be able to do things we just need good weather, and if there’s not good weather we can move it,” Mr. Egan said.
The Color Drop raises money for need-based scholarships awarded to select graduates. “Each year is a little different, this year we tried something different because we gave away a car,” said Mr. Egan. “So in essence I think we made about $100,000 from the event that will then turn around to be given out to scholarships to people in need here at the school.”
Mr. Egan encourages other high school students to attend next year’s Color Drop. “We’d love to have high schoolers come out each year to participate in the event because the money goes to some graduating highschoolers. I would love to have our entire high school show up to participate in the event,” said Mr. Egan.
