OHS students make a difference with fund drive

By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Friday, May 1, 2009 10:47 AM PDT

Ontario High School seniors Isabel Feibert, 18, and Chris Paulsen, 18, stand before the OHS student body to announce OHS had raised $2,600 for a family in need in the school’s inagural Share the Love event. The money will be given to the Miguel Escobedo, who is unemployed and battling cancer.

Ontario — Ontario High School students announced Friday that they not only achieved a community-minded goal to help a family in need — they surpassed it.

Isabel Feibert, 18, stood before OHS students at an assembly April 24 morning to inform them  the student body had collectively raised $2,600 to help a family whose father was battling cancer.

This money is slated to be donated to the Miguel Escobedo family — which includes his wife Mercede, and daughters, Crystal, 6, and Carla, 6 months.

“He has two little girls, and his wife can’t work,” OHS senior Chris Paulsen, 18, said.

Paulsen said Miguel Escobedo had four tumors, with three removed and one remaining. Due to the cancer, he was no longer able to continue working.

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His wife is also currently unable to work at Woodgrain in Ontario due to the fact that she just had a baby.

OHS plans to donate the $2,600 raised for the family April 30. This money not only matched the $800 goal, it more than tripled it.

“We didn’t know how it would go,” OHS senior Mimi Kameshige, 18, said, stating this was the first time the school had held such a fundraiser — called Share the Love.

Kameshige said clubs from around the school, including the Japanese Club and Bible Study Club, came up with their own ideas to raise money for the family — a Dance Dance Revolution fundraiser, a Guitar Hero fundraiser, a dodgeball fundraiser and a volleyball fundraiser.

The Associated Student Body (ASB), of which both Kameshige and Feibert are members, also sold lunches from area restaurants at the school to raise funds. However, one of their biggest fundraisers was a bit more simple, with ASB members visiting classes, money jars in hand to ask for change and cash — whatever the students could give.

“We raised $600,” Feibert said. Feibert said the group first came up with the idea after attending a conference in November, which allows student council members to learn more about what other schools are doing. After returning to campus, the group went to work, passing out applications inviting those in need to request to be considered. The selected application was from a student who is Escobedo’s cousin. Several teachers got involved in the fundraising effort as well, offering to wear cheerleading costumes and shave off one eyebrow.

“Shave them both!” students chanted as physics and science teacher Rod Williams sat on a chair in the middle of the gym, positioning a razor over the spot. Reading teacher Katie Branch, Chemistry teacher Christina Heninger and U.S. history teacher Kara Dominick also appeared in front of the student body wearing cheerleading outfits.

Kameshige said the teachers offered to complete the tasks if the student body could reach their goal.

ASB Advisor Larry VanAuken said he was impressed with how much the group was able to accomplish using their willpower to push them to their goal.

“I had medical issues I was gone for three months,” he said. “When I came back I had to run to catch up with all they were doing.”

He said the students not only changed OHS but the community as a whole.

“These are kids that set a goal, exceeded that goal and made a difference,” he said.

Paulsen said he believed it is important to give back to the community which has given them so much.

“We just had to do something good for someone else,” Kameshige said.