Bear River’s annual Safe and Sober Grad Night celebration is an important event for seniors – a night where they can hang out with their childhood friends before they leave for college. However, its occurrence is extremely dependent on fundraisers held throughout the year, and the seniors need all the help they can get.
The first fundraiser on December 2 at Trailblazer Craft Pizza & Brews had a big turnout. 15% of all profits went to seniors when a Grad Night flier was attached to the receipt.
Michael Burgland, an employee at Trailblazer working during the fundraiser, commented on the support he saw for the event.
“We never have this much business on a Monday night so we’ve been busy,” he said. “But we’re really happy to be able to help out Bear River’s seniors.”
Alisa Johnson, a member of the Grad Night planning committee, explained what the fundraisers are for.
“Grad Night is an amazing event for the graduates,” she said. “We are always looking for ways to make it better and to drive up our donations and fundraising to cover the cost of the event.”
As the publicist of the planning committee, Julie Siegenthaler described how students can support upcoming fundraisers.
“The second fundraiser is our clothing drive,” she said. “All textile-based items collected are sorted by condition: almost new, used, and unusable. This fundraiser is especially helpful for folks who are cleaning out closets and looking for a place to donate items that donation centers don’t accept. No need to sort, no need to wash – just bag and deliver to the school on January 25th. The final fundraiser is an outreach via mail for cash donations from community members and local businesses … The community is so generous, and supports Grad Night with $15-20k each year!”
With the clothing drive around the corner, Mrs. Siegenthaler urges community members in a Facebook post on January 5 to donate items to Bear River High School to be “re-sold, delivered to developing countries, or recycled to reduce landfill waste…so everybody wins!”
Senior Zoey Moody expressed her support of these fundraisers.
“I’m planning on helping out the best I can with the fundraisers,” she said. “I’m also really looking forward to Grad Night.”
Fellow Senior River Jarman talked about how she can participate in the fundraisers.
“I’m going to clean out my closet,” she said. “I can actually bring in bags and bags of clothes … or I’ll just donate all of my brother’s clothes.”
Senior Grace Billingsley explained how she believes the Grad Night fundraisers can help the seniors have an awesome night.
“I think the fundraisers will help us get better entertainment, better awards, and prizes because that’s one of the most fun things about Grad Night.”
Mrs. Siegenthaler explained how Grad Night could not happen without the help of the fundraisers and the school’s promotion.
“The fundraisers are the ONLY way that Safe and Sober Grad Night can happen,” she said. “This event is entirely dependent on the community to make it happen, as it is not funded by the school or the school district. However, we are very grateful that the school allows us to use the campus and help us spread the word.”
Mrs. Siegenthaler described about how Bruins can get involved in the future.
“This annual event is what the planning committee looks forward to all year long,” she said. “… It’s never too early to get involved, and the workload is light when spread among many hands. If anyone is interested, visit our website www.brhsgradnight.com and fill in the contact form … New faces are especially welcome because they usually result in fresh, new ideas.”
