Last Saturday, the Cross Country team held their annual car wash fundraiser. The fundraising was all about raising money for many different heroes in our community in remembrance and anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Team members sold tickets for the car wash in the weeks leading up to the event, where anyone was able to buy a ticket and get their car washed by students for $5. The students were able to raise over $900 in the end. 

The car wash was a great success for the students and faculty. 

“The car wash went pretty good, they worked really really hard and they actually had fun,” Cross Country coach Ms Reese said. “You can really see that the kids, even though they were working so hard, they were having fun.”

Team members were excited to give back to the community and get an opportunity to volunteer for a good cause. 

“I wanted to participate because it felt good to raise money for people who needed it with extra time I had on my hands,” said Cross Country team member Camille Valenzuela. 

Coach Reese also said that she wouldn’t change a thing about how this year’s fundraiser went. Since the students have now experienced it after the few years they couldn’t due to the pandemic, they now know how everything goes and are excited to continue in the next years. 

The fundraiser was so important to many students and faculty, as well as many families. 

“It’s important that we are giving attention to the families of the fallen military service members,” said Valenzuela. “We are honoring them through their family because it’s the least we can do.”

The money from the fundraiser will be going to Honor & Remember Organization, which is a national symbol for appreciation and fallen hero families. 

Coach Rees said one of the most memorable moments from the car wash for her was when the parents of a police officer here in Las Vegas who had passed away had come by to support the kids and the fundraiser. 

“The police officer that we were gonna be honoring, which is a metro Clark County metro police officer here, passed away in august of 2021,” Coach Reese said. “His parents came, because they were so grateful for the fact that we were celebrating the life of their son.” 

When the officer’s parents came they brought along snacks and drinks for the students working, and were happy to see how their son’s life was being honored by the many people involved in the fundraiser, as well as the people coming to support the fundraiser. 

Because of how successful this year went, Coach Reese hopes to do more fun events, as well as continuing to do the cross country car wash in future years. She also mentioned possibly working with the diving team here at school and doing another fundraiser in partnership with Four Ocean, where the many that would be raised would go to the organization that helps clear the reefs of harmful items such as the large amount of tires in the ocean.