History

There had been previous attempts to form an alumni association throughout Collingdale High's 56 years, however, none of these survived the passage of time. With the imminent closing of Collingdale High School in 1981, a few former graduates saw a need "to promote, perpetuate and, preserve the achievements and accomplishments of Collingdale High School." And so it was that the present Collingdale High School Alumni Association was formed.

In 1982, our first president, Ray Mink (Class of '32) was elected into office. We have grown from a small group of 12 founders to our present day active membership of over 1,000 alumni and we keep in touch with over 3,500 alumni through our newsletter, The ColHums.

Each year we see new people become active and make new contact with alumni we had not previously been able to reach. To date we have sponsored nine Grand reunions and several mini-reunions for all the classes of Collingdale High.

As the Association grew, we realized the necessity to reach out to the youth of Collingdale to foster pride in their community and to tell future generations of our pride in our alma mater and our home town. It was decided that one way to achieve this goal was to create a Collingdale High School Alumni Association Scholarship program. Through this program we have been providing scholarships to outstanding graduates of Academy Park High School, who are either residents of Collingdale or children of Collingdale Alumni. Since its inception in 1985, this program has awarded $181,000 to 86 graduates of Academy Park High School. It is now a highlight of our organization. Throughout the years, hundreds of donors have made contributions to our Memorial/Scholarship Fund, in memory or in honor of former teachers, classmates, family members and friends. It is through their generosity and the love that so many people share for the school we call Collingdale High, that this important program has been made possible.