The Shamrock Shuffle is a Catholic Central tradition taking place during the school’s Boys Bowl Weekend homecoming rally. Students race 1.5 miles around the school track, with a donation competition between homerooms. The homeroom that earns the most donations is rewarded with a pizza party, while the individual race winners are highlighted as the year’s Shamrock Shuffle champions. This year’s first place trophy winner went to Owen Ryan ‘25, while Thomas Watson ‘25 earned second place and Ethan Lapham ‘23 came in third place. This year also boasted the most participation in the race and attendance in the stands.
“Last year we were on a hybrid schedule and only half of the students were in person each day with half of the students online,” said Steven Lemieux, science teacher and Shamrock Shuffle coordinator at Catholic Central. “People were very excited to get back into the gym for an assembly. The kids absolutely love getting outside and just being goofy for a good cause. This event often has homecoming floats, the band, tee shirt cannons, you name it. It is not unusual to see someone run in a costume or see someone on a scooter or a unicycle.”
Over the last 24 years students have raised $186,768.87 for charity. This year the freshmen class showed up by claiming the top donation spots. The homeroom with the most donations and winner of the pizza party is Mr. Griffin’s class with $2,315, and a tie at second place goes to Mr. George and Mrs. Pollelaouen’s homerooms raising $1,370 each.
This record-breaking year would not be possible without the help from Catholic Central’s student business club, DECA, which created, designed and promoted the Shamrock Shuffle campaign to the students, families and community. This is the club’s sixth year owning the promotion of the event. DECA Co-Vice Presidents of Philanthropy Dominic Piccirilli ’22 and Kevin Schwab ’22 say the experience taught them lessons about marketing campaigns, but also the importance of serving the community.
“It was an honor to promote such a great foundation (Make-A-Wish), and to really gain an understanding of what goes on behind the scenes. The shuffle isn’t only a great event because it raises money, but rather it brings light to things that can be sad. By contributing my time and ideas to the event, I felt as though I was serving my community in a way that many haven’t.” – Dominic Piccirilli ‘22
“The shamrock shuffle has been a part of the CC tradition for a long time, so it was an honor to help promote it and make it grow. I ran it and supported the shamrock shuffle all three years so to be a part of designing and promoting it for my last time was truly special.” – Kevin Schwab ‘22
“This is a very important tradition at CC. Despite the silliness, the young men are serious about granting a wish to a child that is facing a serious illness. We give a child hope and a smile by granting their wish, and that is priceless,” said Mr. Lemieux.