The oil from the popcorn might just burn the person working the machine. The person counting money works hard to demonstrate math skills on the spot. As the line gets long, the workers get frantic, yelling out for different types of drinks and food. Welcome to the WHS concessions stand.
With so many clubs at the school, fundraising can take many different forms. One of these forms, at least during basketball season, is working the concession stands.
Concession stands are most popular during sporting events because the smell of food can help satisfy the cravings of students, parents or members of the community during these events. Heather Lyons (staff) is in charge of the concession stand, which often raises money for the work experience class. During basketball season, though, Lyons offers sign-up slots to other clubs if they want to raise money for equipment, field trips and other activities.
Clubs that volunteer and raise money split the profit with the work experience class. Lyons said, “60% of profit goes to the clubs and 40% goes back to the concession, of which the work experience class gets 20% of that profit.” Lyons stated that some of the work experience class members who stock the concession stand have used their profit to create fun gifts and events for staff members such as Valentines cards and candy.
Not only do the concessions help with profit for these clubs, but they also help clubs get recognition from the Windsor community. Lyons said, “The concessions help make the clubs visible at games, just because parents don’t always know about them, so it’s nice for them to be seen.”
The reason that these concessions are so popular with the clubs is because of how fun and hands-on they are for the students. Cyrus Toms (10) is a member of multiple clubs and has volunteered in the concessions stand various times as a result. He said, “Running the concessions was pretty fun and easy, and it helped make money for the club.”
This hands-on experience has helped students in the past learn valuable skills such as communication, organization and teamwork. With it being such a fast-pace environment, it’s especially useful work experience.
Although the concession stands are popular and easy to organize for the clubs, working the actual stand is a lot of work. Last year, FACS teacher and FCCLA adviser Jessica Teal (staff) ran the concession stand with the freshman officers of the 2026 class. “Concessions are very hard and expensive to pull off and I feel that concessions really helped our team,” Teal said.
Even though concessions can seem like a small part of the school, they offer help clubs and club students opportunities to grow.
