The Gloucester Township Day Scholarship Committee will celebrate its 35 Gloucester Township Day on Saturday, June 1.
If the past is to repeat itself, this year’s Gloucester Township Day will be a lot of fun for the townspeople.
This is a day to show what Gloucester Township represents. With a township made up of different communities, this is the time of the year where they all come together as one.
“The Gloucester Township schools will have a booth displaying the artwork the kids in the schools have been doing, it’s an opportunity for them to showcase that,” said Richard Hollinshead, assistant treasurer. “Beyond that, I’m going to say two-thirds of the entertainment are kids from Gloucester Township schools.”
Having the students of the township perform is a great way to bring extra traffic to the event, which is what the scholarship committee likes.
“The quality of the entertainment varies with the age of the kids from the schools. The kindergartners are cute, but then we will get some of the high school kids to come and perform some of the numbers from their spring musicals, and these kids are damn good,” said Hollinshead.
One of the highlights of the day is the presenting of the scholarships to the seniors going off to college. The scholarship committee will present 45 seniors with scholarships worth $1,000 each from different high schools in the area, including Highland Regional High School, Timber Creek High School, Triton High School and more.
“It’s a fundraiser for the scholarship committee and we present the scholarships to the kids who were picked. It’s just basically for people in the town to get together and enjoy some music, go on some rides and enjoy themselves,” said Bill Fagan, with the Gloucester Township Department of Recreation.
“We are very concerned about trying to make this a very inclusive type of scholarship,” said Hollinshead.
Hollinshead believes that the students who may not be at the top of their class but plan to continue their education by attending a four-year college or university will really appreciate this money because they need it just as much.
Not only are the students appreciative of the opportunity to receive a scholarship, but the scholarship committee is very appreciative of the support it receives as well.
“We couldn’t possibly host Gloucester Township Day without public works to help clean up or the police to help keep order,” said Hollinshead.
He continued by expressing his thanks for the support of the municipality.
“Mayor Mayer is very supportive. Without the support from him and council it would be very difficult, almost impossible, for us to make the money we do as easily as we do. We just really need their help and support,” said Hollinshead.
The festivities will kick off around noon and last until 10 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. The rain date is Sunday, June 2.
