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To paraphrase everyone from Shakespeare to Mark Twain to the Ancient Greeks, clothes do make the band.

When Crater High musicians and drum majors strutted their stuff last week in the first new threads the band has worn in decades, it was more than a display of school pride.

It was the culmination of what good, old-fashioned elbow grease will accomplish. Students, parents and supporters washed cars, held yard sales and collected cans on their way toward raising about $30,000 toward funding the flashy new uniforms and a trailer to carry band gear for events.

In other words, they demonstrated a need … and the public responded.

It’s a trend we’re taking note of these days — as projects large and small have generated financial support across the Rogue Valley.

• When the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 2023 season was threatened with being curtailed, private and public funding generated far more than the $2.3 million the company said it needed to keep from going dark.

Fundraising, as OSF leaders know all too well, is a year-long endeavor; but a focus on financial stability has theater-lovers cautiously optimistic.

“We look forward to creating a strong foundation in 2024, for our 90th anniversary in 2025, and for future generations of creatives and audiences,” OSF posted on its website with the current season was saved.

• At the end of September, Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center announced it had received its largest-ever corporate gift — $3 million from Rogue Credit Union, which will go toward expanding services for surgical, cardiac and critical patients.

The health system’s philanthropic campaign, AsanteForward, set out to raise $50 million over 10 years and already has surpassed that goal, taking in $58 million in about six years.

“(Rogue Credit Union has) been partnering with Asante since the very beginning,” said Andrea Reeder, Asante’s chief philanthropy officer and senior vice president. “We just see them as a longterm strong partner for us, and we’re incredibly, incredibly grateful.”

• Another record-setting gift was received late last month when Mt. Ashland announced a $500,000 donation from longtime community benefactors Karen and Sid DeBoer, and their foundation is giving $2 million.

The funds will go toward the ski area’s first new chairlift in about 40 years — called the Lithia Chair, the lift is likely to be operational in 2025 and will be situated such as to open more terrain for beginning and intermediate skiers.

“We were so insistent that the money go toward expanding the intermediate terrain,” Sid DeBoer said, alluding to new trail options slated to be available when the lift is ready. “It’s one of the hardest things for beginners to start skiing up there.”

OSF, Asante and Mt. Ashland are three of Jackson County’s bedrock institutions — each improving the quality of life for thousands of residents. For them to grow and survive, it often takes the sort of financial commitment from foundations and individuals beyond the scope of the majority of us to provide.

But the benefits of giving are no greater than those felt by the students, teachers, parents and boosters at Crater High School, who rallied behind their beloved band members and gave them a long-delayed boost.

“The kids are really excited to look more updated and more put together,” said parent Angela Mireles, “to feel proud of what they’re representing. They’ve all been working so hard. They deserve this.”

Money well spent, all the way around.