Holy Cross High School: A Walk Named for Its Founder

In November 2025, Holy Cross High School students carried the Knights banner down 29th Avenue in Flushing, Queens, on a route around Bowne Park. It was the 27th walk in a tradition started by one of the school's religious brothers.

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Brother Ralph's walk

The event's full name is the Brother Ralph Edmiston, C.S.C. Walkathon. The school holds it "in loving memory of Bro. Ralph Edmiston, CSC, who was the originator of this student-led fundraiser."1 In its 2014 obituary, the Diocese of Brooklyn's newspaper noted that at Holy Cross "he was well known for his involvement in the highly successful annual Walk-a-Thons."2

Naming a walk for the person who began it turns a fundraiser into an inheritance. Each class of students is carrying on something with a face and a history, which gives every new class a reason to keep it going. Holy Cross keeps the name in front of families: its recap and its message to parents both use the walk's full title, more than a decade after his death. If your walk has a founder, put the name in the event title, tell the story at kickoff, and the tradition explains itself to every new family.

"It came down to the wire"

The 27th walk's goal was $100,000. "It came down to the wire, but on Friday, November 7th., we exceeded our $100,000 goal for the Walkathon, raising a total of $104,583.04," the school told families in its November message.3

The same message shows how the money is raised. Each student has a personal goal and an online fundraising page: "If you did not meet your goal by Walkathon Day, you can still log in to your fundraising page," and "you can also direct friends and family to make a gift." The site stayed open and gifts were accepted "until December 31st."

Seven more weeks of giving

Many walks close giving soon after walk day. Holy Cross keeps going until New Year's Eve, and the reasons hold up. Some relatives and alumni only hear about a walk when the photos go up. Students who fell short get a second chance at their goal. And the deadline lands in the season when many people make year-end gifts anyway.

An open window only helps if something prompts people to use it. The school's own material suggests what to send. The November message itself went out two weeks after the goal was reached, thanking families and reminding them the pages were still live. The school's HCTV also produced a highlight video of the day.4 A school copying this could plan three sends: a thank-you with the total and the video in the week after the walk, a note in early December to students still short of their goal, and a last call to relatives and alumni just before the deadline. The letter templates include a thank-you and a reminder.

A band, a dance team and a festival

The school's recap describes a "2+ mile route around Bowne Park" and a program that made walk day an all-school occasion: "A performance from our Holy Cross Band," "The debut of our brand-new Dance Team" and "Our second annual student Fall Festival."4 Giving clubs a stage on walk day turns spectators into participants, and a dance team's first performance or a band's set is the kind of footage that makes a highlight video worth sharing. The money, the school says, helps it "continue offering exceptional, affordable Catholic education while enhancing our facilities, expanding technology, and enriching the learning experience for every student." The recap's headline promises service, but no service project is described, so we don't claim one.

Banners on the Francis Lewis Boulevard fence

For the 20th annual walk, the school reported that "many area businesses are showing their support by placing banners" on "the fence along Francis Lewis Blvd."1 Francis Lewis Boulevard is the school's street address. A banner on a school fence facing a busy road is sponsor recognition that keeps working for weeks, seen by every driver who passes. Before selling fence space, check what your school and town allow on a public-facing fence, set a standard size, and agree on when banners go up and come down; the sponsorship guide explains how to price it. For off-campus routes, crossings and money handling at the high school level, see the high school walk-a-thon guide; across the country, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep runs a Catholic high school walk on an even larger scale.

Sources

  1. Holy Cross High School, 20th Annual Walk-a-Thon (accessed October 19, 2026).
  2. The Tablet (Diocese of Brooklyn), obituary of Brother Ralph Edmiston, C.S.C. (August 21, 2014; accessed October 19, 2026).
  3. Holy Cross High School, November message to families (November 21, 2025; accessed October 19, 2026).
  4. Holy Cross High School, Holy Cross Walkathon 2025: A Celebration of Spirit, Service & Success (November 14, 2025; accessed October 19, 2026).