KG DRAGONS’ SUMMER CAR WASH
Support Our High School Winning Team!

by Henry MacDougall
(click on photos to enlarge)

Team coach Darko Kulic (far right) and the KG Dragons car washing squad.

As a West Ender, you may have walked past the yearly car wash put on by the King George Basketball team every summer. But what is it all about? I reached out to Darko Kulic, the coach of the team, to ask some questions about the car wash, and this is what he told me.

What is the team fundraising for? “We are fundraising for our school’s basketball teams. Each spring and summer we work hard to raise as much money as possible to ensure costs are covered. The costs include tournaments, referees, equipment, league entry, away trips, hotels, and rentals. Our goal is to ensure that the basketball team’s expenses are covered, however we work together with teachers to team up and do some washes for other KG extracurricular activities, which in the past have included arts, yearbook, drama, student council, and the grad committee.”

All the money raised goes to help to help out parents to cover these sorts of costs.

How many daily customers do you get on average? “We usually wash about eight to ten cars an hour. So it depends on if were doing a weekday wash (four to five hours long) or the weekend which is six to eight hours.”

Keep an eye out for students on Denman and Haro street corners pointing the way.

How much money do you aim to raise, and how much have you raised so far? “Overall it’s a high cost for all the great tournaments and trips we get invited to, so we usually aim for $20,000. That takes lots of hard work and determination, and lots of community support which is greatly appreciated. So far we are at $8,000, so we’re getting there.

“The better our results on the court, the more tournaments and further away games we get invited to, so the costs add up.”

How many years have you been doing this? “I personally have been volunteer coaching at King George now for 16 years and this is our eleventh summer of car washes.”

What are some of the teams' notable accomplishments? “In my years as a coach, we have won four Vancouver City Championships, seven Zone tournaments (Lower mainland/Sea to Sky), and have finished top three at provincials three times in the last five years.

“This next team coming up is an exciting group as they are very young and have great potential, off and on the court, to make KG proud and continue to represent our community the right way.”

How much do you charge for each car? “It is fully by donation, and we have not set a minimum. We have many returning patrons from all of the years and usually it is $15 - $20, but it does vary. We are very thankful for the support from the community.”

Do any of the customers attend the teams' games? “We have had many customers come and attend. It is very cool as some former alumni have come to our wash and fallen in love with coming back to KG again and supporting their school. Again, we’re very appreciative of the support and the wonderful people in the community who not only show support by attending the car wash, but at the games as well.”

Everything you need to know. Now get that car washed!

Do you think there are any life skills to be gained from basketball/fundraising? “Obviously the fundraising is important. However, I always say money isn’t why we do the car washes, rather it is the life lessons. The teams work together and learn how to work hard and how it does pay off, how to budget, how to market and promote, and many more great skills. Many of my former players come back and say how much fun the car washes were as its also a sort of team bonding, and also how it taught them hard work, dedication, and team unity. That makes me very proud, and we still do have lots of alumni coming back to support with either helping out or getting their car washed. It’s wonderful.”

Do you have funny stories or anecdotes about the car wash? “Lots of fun memories over the years. One great one was a few years back when we had a patron without a car stop by and say that they would love to help out but wanted to see if we are really student athletes, so what the gentleman did was made a friendly game. He said since he doesn’t have a car this is another friendly fun way to earn money. He asked trivia questions to see if we as a team could get the correct answers, and for every right answer he donated $5. We ended up as a team working together having fun and got ten straight correct answers for $50, and then the gentleman doubled it and said we obviously listen to our teachers and are in fact “student athletes”. A pretty interesting and fun story I thought!”

Has anyone famous ever visited the car wash? We actually have had a few NBA players stop by and show support and a few local celebrity actors. There is a picture on our Instagram actually when Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets stopped by, shot a round with the players, and got his car washed. Wonderful moments for the students.”

Henry Back Again … Overall, visiting the KG Dragons car wash is a great way to show your support for the school. If you would like to donate, the car wash goes from 4-8 PM on Mondays and 12-7 PM on Saturdays. The wash takes place in the King George parking lot on Barclay Street. Just look for the teens holding signs!

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