News : VS fund-raisers seek to replace old graduation gowns with real choir robes

A comparison of the new choir robe VS fund-raisers hope to buy, and decades-old gowns now in use.

VS senior Lily Horst models a new choir robe; fund-raising has begun for the project.

For the past 30 years or more, Vinton-Shellsburg High School choir members have been performing while wearing graduation gowns instead of actual choir robes.

A new fund-raising effort by the Fine Arts Century Club (FACC) hopes to change that in time for the large group contest in May.

“A choir robe can be considered much like a uniform that a band member or a basketball player would wear,” said LuAnn Urlaub, a member of the FACC. “Would we send a varsity team onto the floor with players dressed in different uniforms? Wearing these new robes, complete with the colors of black and gold and the V-S logo would be a source of pride.”

The FACC has donated $5,000 toward the project. The choral department fund-raising efforts have netted $2,000 for the project, and a $2,000 grant from the Simon Estes Foundation will also help pay the cost of the 120 robes. Each robe, complete with stole, garment bag, hangers and embroidery, costs $228.30. In addition to having the VS logo, the robes sleeves are trimmed in a handsome shade of gold that matches the school colors.

The remaining funds needed total $18,214, although an anonymous donor had already pledged $1,100 before the fund-raising campaign began.

Choir director Michala Martin says she does not know if the school originally purchased those graduation gowns for the purpose of choir robes, or if the district simply accepted donations of used graduation robes. Some of the current robes have stoles that lack any school logo, and are red on one side and yellow on the other. Other robes are so old that they have a “V” on the front instead of “V-S,” indicating they have been in use since before the Vinton-Shellsburg merger in 1989.

VS Senior choir member Lily Horst had tried on the new robes and says they are much more comfortable than the graduation gowns she has worn throughout her choir career.

There are currently no school district funds available, and other band member fund-raisers are already in place for an upcoming trip. So, says Urlaub, the FACC is seeking the help of the community.

“We encourage parents, grandparents and past students near and far to help make this goal a reality,” says Urlaub.

The FACC hopes to raise the $18,000 by March 15, so the robes would be ready for the choir’s large group contest in May.

The Vinton Community Foundation is a partner with the FACC, and funds donated via the VCF are tax-deductible. To donate, mail a check made out to the VCF/VS-FACC with the notation “choir robes” and mail it to Heather Kingsbury, Farmers Savings Bank, 401 B Avenue, Vinton, IA 52349.

For more information, contact FACC board members LuAnn Urlaub, Robert Fischer, Nancy Beckman, Heather Kingsbury or Eric Upmeyer.