The White County High School Theatre Department’s Booster Club is collecting money to aid a student and her family who lost their home in a fire over the weekend.
Kayla Johnson, webmaster for the club, said WCHS senior Grace and her grandparents were able to escape the Friday night fire without injuries, but the club was concerned about the family receiving direct relief ahead of the end of the school year.
“Our biggest concern was the fact that prom is two weeks away, graduation is two months away, and we knew that Grace had some immediate needs that we wanted to make sure were filled,” Johnson said. “We didn't want her to have to worry and we didn't want her grandparents to have to worry about if Grace would have to do without for all those important events in her life.”
Johnson said Grace had wrapped up starring as the lead in the department's latest production just days before the incident.
“Grace has always been a part of the theater program here at White County- this time, though, it was different. She's always been a huge supporting actress in most of our shows…and this time, her senior year, she got the chance to be the lead in ‘The Sound of Music’ as Maria. [She] did a phenomenal job. I don't know anybody who had anything negative to say. The entire community just loved her performance.”
So far, the club has presented Grace’s family with $5,000 in donations. The booster club aims to continue collecting for the family through the end of the school year. Monetary donations can be sent to the group’s Venmo account.
“We've just opened it up to receive any type of donations that anyone feels led to give,” Johnson said. “It's been from $5 to $100, and our community has just been amazing right now with that. It's the easiest way for us to let Grace access that money.”
The boosters will also collect essential items during the White County Middle School’s production of “Mary Poppins Jr.” Shows will run from March 20 through March 22.
The White County High School Theatre Department’s Booster Club will collect funds for senior Grace and her family through the end of the school year.
White County High School Senior Grace had just finished staring in the theatre department's production of "The Sound of Music" just days before the incident.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/3/1289653/white-county-high-school-booster-club-fundraises-for-student-who-lost-her-home-in-a-fire