With more than $6,000 raised from Friday’s benefit ball,
students at San Benito High School are still fighting to reach
their goal of $10,000 to donate to the families of Matt Lopez and
P.J. Galvan.
Each year, SBHS students put on a dance with proceeds going to
different beneficiaries. Lopez and Galvan were 2003 graduates of
SBHS who were killed in an automobile accident Dec. 6.
With more than $6,000 raised from Friday’s benefit ball, students at San Benito High School are still fighting to reach their goal of $10,000 to donate to the families of Matt Lopez and P.J. Galvan.
Each year, SBHS students put on a dance with proceeds going to different beneficiaries. Lopez and Galvan were 2003 graduates of SBHS who were killed in an automobile accident Dec. 6.
“We raised over $6,300. The most our ASB (Associated Student Body) ever raised was $4,500, and we totally demolished that,” said Becky Bonner, SBHS senior and ASB president. “This year, it hit home for a lot of people who the beneficiaries were.”
At the benefit ball Friday night, pictures of Lopez and Galvan were displayed. Also, the parents and siblings of both teens gave short speeches thanking everyone who raised money.
Students collected pledges for the event. A $10 pledge got students into the dance for free. While Bonner said attendance looked the same, she thought pledges were up compared to the past.
Another way students raised money at the dance was by selling stars for $20 that people put names on – somewhat like the luminaries at Hollister’s Relay for Life. Most of the 250 stars sold featured the name of Lopez, Galvan or their families, said Amy Abbass, SBHS senior and coordinator of the benefit drive.
“The difference between this year and other years is that a lot of people were connected to Matt and P.J. They were very influential in this community,” Abbass said.
The benefit drive will continue through Friday. SBHS students are striving to reach $10,000.
Papa Murphy’s Take ‘n Bake Pizza will donate 25 percent of its sales 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday to the benefit, Abbass said.
“I totally think the kids can reach it. In three days, they raised $6,000. I think in one week they can raise $3,000,” said Bonner, who pledged to cut her long hair to an inch and a half if the goal is reached.
The money donated to the families will go to scholarship funds – Lopez’s will be for golf players and Galvan’s for baseball players.
Formerly called the cheap dance, the benefit ball started in 1994 as a dance students could get into for a discounted price. The next school year, students wanted to collect funds for distribution to a needy community member or family. This year, the name was changed to benefit ball.
For more information or to make a donation, call Student Activities Director Juan Robledo at 637-5831, ext. 352, or Becky Doty at ext. 351.
