McDowell Marching Band

The McDowell Band Aides (MBA) are the non-profit, parent-run booster organization that supports the marching band! We meet on the second Tuesday of every month, at MIHS, to discuss upcoming performances, fundraisers, and events that affect our students.

Welcome Letter

The McDowell Band Aides would like to welcome all the new and returning members and parents of the McDowell Marching Band. Marching band is a valuable activity, not only musically, but also for teaching life lessons such as commitment, dedication, and consistently striving for excellence. Band is not about trophies or coming in first place, but it is about the process we go through to succeed. It is teamwork! One band, one sound, one family! We believe your child will benefit from being a part of our organization and in addition, we encourage you to become an active part of our band boosters and all of our engagements. We are always in need of parent support and help at the football games, band competitions and most importantly help with the McDowell Marching Band Invitational.

Sincerely,
McDowell Band Aides

Mission Statement

The primary purpose of the MBA shall be to support, foster and promote the marching band. The activities will be consistent within the guidelines of the ethical and moral procedures within the Millcreek School System.

The organization will also promote the McDowell High School marching band as listed but not limited to:

Assisting and supporting the Band Directors and school authorities in the development of an outstanding band program
Assisting and planning activities
Fundraising
Encouraging parent participation and community support
Maintaining communication between all facets of the organization
Advocating for the arts at the district, local, state, and national level

The MBA is organized and upholds the codes of a 501C3 adhering to all IRS applicable codes and to Pennsylvania non-profit corporate law.

Volunteering

We depend upon parent chaperones for our events. The need never ceases as chaperones graduate out with their senior students. If you are interested in chaperoning, you will have to fill out the proper clearances to be an approved chaperone by the MTSD. If you already have clearances on file in any of our MTSD schools you will not have to do this again until your clearances expire. The school district will contact you when you are due for renewal (about every 5 years). Please inquire if there is something you are interested in helping with. We need at least 6 approved chaperones every time we travel.

There are 2 levels of Volunteer Clearances: General Volunteer and Board Approved Volunteer. General Clearances are sufficient for most of the Band Events. Board Approved Clearances are required for any Chaperone that will not be under the direct supervision of a qualified MTSD employee such as on overnight trips (i.e. Disney Chaperone). To become Board approved you must complete the General Clearance requirements plus the Act 126 Training, Drivers’ License Waiver, and Drug Test (scheduled by the Personnel Office). The application is then reviewed and approved by the School Board.

We are using the popular site SignUpGenius to better organize our volunteers! For the 2023/24 season you will only find Committee Signups on SignUpGenius and each Committee Chair will reach out to their committee members for specific volunteer events/details/logistics: volunteer.mcdowellmarchingband.org

Getting Your Clearances

To become a volunteer with the Marching Band, download the Application packet and follow these steps:

Fill out Sections I, IV, & V on page one of the volunteer packet and submit to the Athletic Office for the Athletic Director’s approval.
Once the Athletic Department has approved your request to become a volunteer, you must complete the application and obtain all required documents listed in the packet under Section II.
When you have those documents, please call Yolanda Tamilin at the Education Center to set up an appointment to review the packet and verify that you are an approved volunteer. Yolanda may be reached between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 pm at 814-835-5306