The decades-long fundraiser is vital to Malvern’s history. Without it, the school was likely to shut down in 1975.

“In 1975, the school was at risk of closing. It was a group of parents that believed they could save the school with a fundraiser. If it wasn’t for parents, Malvern would have closed its doors,” Director of Annual Leadership Giving, Mrs. Pamela Engle said.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Malvern had to stray away from the usual in-person gala auction, moving it to a three day virtual event. Last year, the virtual event allowed a larger group to participate, including parents and alumni.

“I would say that it’s kind of evolved and it’s no longer just a current parent event,” Engle said.  “It’s a very social event that all the parents and [alumni] are excited to be a part of every year.”

B.A.S.H involved work from a large group of people. It’s co-chaired by Susan Weaver and Evelyn Bennet, and includes a committee of one parent from each class. 

“We also created and launched our B.A.S.H. Ambassadors program, which has a lot of students participate in,” she said. “It helps us energize the program and their main responsibility will be to refer back to their peers.”

The fundraiser will be largely operated through the use of the website www.mpbash.givesmart.com, which contains the current amount raised out of a goal of $150,000. 

“The main goal with all our communication is going to be to get people to go to this main site, where our donors will be able to help us raise our total goal of $150,000,” Engle said. 

Engle is very excited about the silent auction that will allow donors to bid on specific items. Some of Malvern’s coaches have even donated private lessons to bid on. 

“We’re going to have so many things like Phillies tickets to the Eagles training camps, jewelry, and stuff like tickets to museums,” she said. 

Additionally, some influential people in the Malvern community have been asked to make a video of them bartending. The viewers will watch the different videos and bet on who was the better bartender. 

“People can vote for their favorite bartender,” Engle said. “It’ll be $5 a vote and the money that the winner raises in the voting contest, they get to keep. I think it’s really going to help a lot of our guests understand that B.A.S.H. supports all aspects of Malvern Prep.”

The highlight of the weekend will entail a one hour, live auction held on campus by Father Riley on Saturday. Fifteen minutes of the hour will be devoted to the Paddle Raise, a popular auction that raises funds for campus improvements.

“It’s literally going to be Father Reilly with the auctioneer, and this production company is going to stream onto YouTube. Our goal is to raise $60,000 during that paddle raise, which is probably 15 minutes,” Engle said. 

The funds from the paddle raise always go to a decided cause, such as water fountains or benches in the quad. This year, the committee has decided to use the money for a new media production studio. 

“They’re going to transfer the entire student union into the media production studio,” she said.

The studio will include new Virtual Reality headsets. Engle believes that this addition will complete the missing hole in Malvern’s curriculum and that these devices will create fantastic new teaching opportunities. 

“How awesome would it be for a teacher to book the Media Production Studio and say they are going on a field trip to Argentina. They all walk down a market in Argentina, or they see a tango presentation in Argentina and they’re experiencing the culture, versus reading it on paper,” Engle said.

With B.A.S.H. quickly approaching, Engle asks that students do anything they can to help spread the word. 

“A simple share, like, or comment really does make a significant difference for us,” she said.