Community story
The all-girls school in south St. Louis has grown its Fall Festival Mega Raffle every single year — from $60,000 in 2020 to $128,000 last year.
Fall Festival season is officially underway at Notre Dame High School in south St. Louis — and with it, the launch of the school's 7th annual Mega Raffle with Go Raise Dough.
If the first six years are any indication, it's going to be a big one.
Founded in 1934 and sponsored by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Notre Dame High School is an all-girls Catholic college-preparatory school on a 43-acre campus in Lemay, overlooking the Mississippi River. For more than 90 years, its mission has been to empower young women to become "confident, compassionate Christian leaders" — pairing rigorous academics with faith, service and real leadership experience.
The Mega Raffle is the centerpiece of the school's 72nd annual Fall Festival, and every dollar raised goes right back into that mission.
Notre Dame ran its first online Mega Raffle with Go Raise Dough in 2020, raising $60,000 in a year when most fundraisers were shutting down, not starting up.
They haven't slowed down since. The raffle has grown every single year, topping out at $128,000 last year — more than double where they started. All together, seven years of Mega Raffles have brought in over $500,000 for the school.
Around 300 student sellers power this raffle every fall. Last year the Rebels sold nearly 6,000 tickets — about 19 tickets for every student in the building. When the whole school pulls in the same direction, the results speak for themselves.
School spirit is never in short supply at Notre Dame. When Fall Festival season kicks off, the gym fills with color — tutus, pom-poms, glitter and plenty of smiles.
With six record-setting years behind them, the students of Notre Dame are aiming to make year seven the biggest yet. Tickets are on sale now — and when you buy one, you're not just taking a shot at a great prize. You're backing 300 young women, a Fall Festival tradition in its 72nd year, and a school that has spent nine decades preparing its graduates to transform the world around them.
Congratulations to Notre Dame High School on the launch of Mega Raffle #7 — let's make it another record breaker!
That's what community raffles are really about: creating a little excitement, having a lot of fun, and giving back to the people who make our communities great.
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