The All-Sports Boosters is a group of community members and RSU 9 parents who raise money for Mt. Blue sport teams. The Boosters provide 100% funding for protective gear and cover 50% of uniform costs. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson

FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue All-Sports Boosters have partnered with Wight’s Sporting Goods to launch an online store to sell athletic apparel featuring the high school’s logo and mascot, the cougar. The store will be open until Sunday, Nov. 22, to provide time for orders to be processed and arrive before the holidays.

After Wight’s receives their portion of sales, the remaining money will go into the Boosters account to directly benefit the high school’s 20 athletic teams. This is the first fundraiser that the Boosters, comprised of community members and parents of athletes, have held this school year.

“Obviously the Boosters have not been able to make any money where their only source besides sometimes random donations, is the admissions and the concessions,” Mt. Blue Athletic Director Chad Brackett said in a phone interview. “They made no money this fall and the possibility of there being no spectators for winter sports, if we have winter sports, the immediate future of their fundraising is not good.”

The Mt. Blue Boosters typically raise money by selling tickets to sporting games and from selling homemade baked goods, hot dishes and concessions. Brackett said that the proceeds from these sales makes it possible for the group to purchase 100% of the safety gear required by the Maine Principal’s Association for students to participate in sports. The proceeds also cover 50% of the school’s athletic uniforms.

“They’re hurting for funds coming in, fortunately, they’re very good with their spending,” Brackett said about Boosters members. “They’re very thoughtful, but also conscientious of precedent and they’re very generous, but they’re also very mindful.”

Brackett also added that the Boosters are still looking for additional volunteers to staff concession and admission stands in the future and contribute food items. Interested volunteers can contact Brackett by email at cbrackett@mtbluersd.org.

The online apparel store provides the added benefit of Mt. Blue having more control over the school’s logo design. Brackett said that non-school affiliated stores often print the logo with the wrong colors and with inconsistent spelling of Mt. Blue.

“So that was one of the reasons why I really wanted to get some apparel or swag out to the community,” he said. “I’d like to have some kind of control over that because when big box stores put out Mt. Blue apparel, it’s not done right, the color is not right. We spell Mt. Blue with the mount abbreviated.”

Brackett will provide three to four days of in-person pick-up at the high school once he receives shipment confirmation from Wight. Otherwise, orders can be shipped directly to a customer for an additional fee. The apparel store can be found at https://mtblueboosters.itemorder.com/sale.