On January 4th, 2020, the Millard West Varsity Competition Cheer team hosted their first Daddy Daughter Date Night fundraiser in Wildcat one. The team hosted this event as a way to fundraise money for traveling expenses for the girls, coaches and alumni to go to Nationals. It was also a chance for all fathers and daughters to spend an evening together while making memories.  

This was a night opened for anyone in Pre-K and up to participate. A registration fee of $30 was required for each pair to attend. Since this is the first year the cheer team put this event on, they had to put in lots of planning for preparation. Coaches, teammates and parents collaborated to put this fundraiser in the works.

“For preparation, we reached out to our feeder elementary schools to get the word out,” coach Stefanie Lane said. “We also marketed it on multiple social media platforms. We had a few parent meetings to plan and decided to have the girls help decorate around the school.”

On the day of, the girls and parents set up before the dance in Wildcat one and decorated the Commons. Just hours before the event, handmade snowflakes, ribbons, posters and lights were added around the gym to help add a wow factor to the winter wonderland themed event. 

“I really enjoyed setting up and decorating the school for the dance,” sophomore Camryn Wallace said. “Since nothing had been done like this before, I was excited to see how it would all turn out in the end and see everyone have a good time.”

The night included a photo booth, games, crafts and a hot chocolate bar. Flowers and desserts were also available for purchase. 

Throughout the evening, the dance floor was packed with fathers and their daughters.

“My favorite part of the night was the actual dance because I got to be the DJ,” senior Marissa Wilken said. “I was up on my booth in the gym the entire night having a blast while still being able to watch all of the dads and their kids dance to the music I played” 

Well into the night, a dad dance-off was held where 24 participants battled it out on the dance floor. A winner was selected and awarded with a Yo-Yo Berri gift card. 

Overall, the team was able to fundraise money to cover all expenses for their signs, music and trip to state because of the 250 people that attended that night. With the success of this event, the team plans on continuing this night in hopes of making it an annual fundraiser.