Gold Rush’s Freddy Dodge Stepped Into A Fundraising Controversy – Looper

For the ultimate “Gold Rush” fan, some actual mined gold and a lunch with Freddy Dodge probably sound like the top prizes. And that may have been the thought in including them as auction items for a Colorado school fundraiser. Poudre High School was initially planning to offer two-half ounces of gold mined by Dodge as well as lunch with him as part of the fundraiser for their school’s Future Farmers of America. The gold even had a bit of a personal touch, as it was apparently mined from the area. However, the school ultimately decided against it.

Apparently, Poudre High School disagreed with a local auctioneer on how to pay for the gold and, as a result, pulled the prize days before their auction was set to take place. Such a controversial move could have severely hindered the school’s fundraising efforts. But as it turns out, without Dodge’s gold, the school still managed to break their previous year’s fundraising efforts by netting over $50,000. What ultimately became of the gold is unknown, but at least the school reached its goal. 

So technically, Dodge wasn’t directly involved in this gold fundraiser fiasco. But it is a bummer that a prize related to him nose-tailed into a mess, especially given Dodge’s helpful persona on “Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge’s Mine Rescue.” Dodge clearly takes his task of helping others seriously, and the prize would have made a nice touch.