The members of Highland Park High School’s student council never seemed to tire of bouncing, playing kickball, and decorating small faces with rainbow unicorn horns, crosses, and sparkles.
Even a special showing of Minions on the high school’s softball field wasn’t enough to keep some of the young guests at their movie night fundraiser on March 28 from more play.
But by the time the Minions made their last dash across the screen, the dedicated high schoolers had raised about $17,000 for the foundations that honor the six Park Cities girls who lost their lives in the July 4 flooding at Camp Mystic.
Many of the high schoolers, who also each wrote letters to raise funds, feel a close connection to the young flood victims, explained executive council vice president Cate Young.
“We went to the same elementary schools that they went to. We lived the same childhoods that they did,” she said. “This night is just meant to be a night of childhood, where everyone can come and celebrate and remember in a positive way the joy and youthfulness of the girls that we’ve lost.”
The student council’s fundraising tradition started two decades ago to support the family of a council member whose mother was battling breast cancer. Over the years, its spring benefits have raised a total of about $300,000 for causes as diverse as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer, and a school in Zambia.
But it wasn’t difficult to decide who this year’s beneficiaries should be. “This is what we needed to do,” said sponsor John Hinton, who guides the council with assistance from co-sponsor Michelle Grimes.
In past years, the student council has hosted spikeball tournaments, concerts, and even a four-hour parents’ night out. But this was the group’s first-ever movie night fundraiser. Its 61 members spent months planning the event and worked together to choose the perfect family film.
They used proceeds from the high school’s Homecoming Dance to finance an evening overflowing with family fun, including an obstacle course, Scooby Doo bounce house, climbing wall, face painting, and sports such as spikeball and soccer.
Council members said that they hoped the event wouldn’t simply raise funds but would also bring together community members and forge connections between older and younger students.
“We really want to remind the community that we are strongest when we are spending time together and being joyful together,” Young said, “and enjoying the privilege that it is to live here and be in each other’s company.”
After over an hour of carrying excited younger children, painting faces, and bouncing in the Scooby Doo bounce house, sophomore representative Gray Tiffany said she wasn’t tired yet. The movie night “makes the community feel more welcoming and together,” she remarked.
The evening’s attendees included young family members of some of the girls who were killed in the flooding.
Doug Hanna, who lost his 8-year-old daughter Hadley at Camp Mystic, looked on as Hadley’s little sister, Hunter, spent the evening playing with three of her young cousins.
“These kids are service-oriented,” he said of the high schoolers. “I think it’s wonderful.”
Author
