Wendy Dodson
NORTH PLATTE – The 22nd annual G.R.E.E.N. fundraising event for the North Platte Catholic Schools was held on Saturday, October 26th at St. Patrick High School. Generating Resources for Educational Excellence Now is the largest single event of the year for the North Platte Catholic Schools Endowment Trust, which serves as the fundraising arm for the Catholic school system.
The event hosted over 260 guests Saturday and featured nearly 150 items on silent and live auctions. Though not yet final, Endowment Director Wendy Dodson estimates net proceeds will easily exceed $250,000, which will set a new record for the event that began in 2003. Proceeds support the annual fundraising campaign of the NPCS Endowment, which funds the general operations of the North Platte Catholic School system.
A portion of the monies raised at G.R.E.E.N. will be designated for two special projects at the North Platte Catholic Schools. Over $71,000 was generated through the Fund-A-Need appeal, which will provide new classroom lighting at McDaid Elementary and St. Patrick’s Jr/Sr High. Over $6,500 was donated to purchase classroom Wish List items submitted by McDaid, Little Leprechaun, and St. Pat’s teachers.
Paul Knopick of North Platte won the Heads or Tails prize, and the G.R.E.E.N. Lucky Lotto winners were Tanner Pettera of North Platte and Tom Downey of Lexington. Winners of the three G.R.E.E.N. Spirit Wagons were: Bob & Marge Braithwait, Rocky & Robyn Torres, and Jon & Kim Wieseler, all of North Platte.
Dodson notes that many thanks are in order to the volunteers and sponsors who helped with G.R.E.E.N. Marty Troshynski donated his services catering the entire meal, which was served by St. Pat’s Jr/Sr High students. The Lincoln County Feedyard LLC donated all of the beef served at the event, and Noffsinger family farms donated potatoes. Skyline Liquor was the corporate sponsor for beverage service. Dodson encourages the North Platte Community to save the date for next year’s event on Saturday, October 25th, 2025.