Ann Sobrato High School students are lending a hand to a 7-year-old disabled Gilroy boy in desperate need of a new wheelchair with a variety of fundraising efforts in the local community and on the web.
President Moriah Silva, a 17-year-old junior and founding member of the school’s “A Lending Hand” club, along with April Rivera, the club’s vice president, Zuha Aslam, the club’s reporter, and about 14 club members have already raised $1,200.
“The goal is $2,000. We’re almost there,” said Aslam, a 16-year-old junior at Sobrato. “We are going to do more fundraisers to raise more money…We’re still working on getting the other $800.”
The latest fundraiser, an April 4 benefit concert at the downtown Morgan Hill Granada Theater, generated $500 in donations from the close to 40 local residents who took time over Easter weekend to attend the event.
“I think for our first one it went amazing,” said Silva of the club’s very first benefit concert fundraising event. “I’ve always wanted to do something like that. I’m always looking for different ways to help others. When I had this opportunity of creating my own club, it all came true.”
After brainstorming with her two classmates on ideas for the new club, Silva—drawing from experiences with her disabled brother—formed “A Lending Hand Club” in January. They recruited more than a dozen Sobrato students and then contacted Gateway School in Gilroy, which opened in 1970 to serve mentally disabled students in South County.
“We asked the teachers what students were the most needy,” Aslam explained.
They were told about Kevin Lopez-Rendon, a 7-year-old boy at the school suffering from a chromosomal disorder known as DiGeorge Syndrome. He suffers seizures and can’t hold himself up as a result of the disorder.
“When I first met Kevin, I just thought it was the best thing to see him with my own eyes and make my own opinion of the situation he was in,” said Silva, who met him at the family home in Gilroy. “He was the sweetest little boy ever.”
The club’s fundraising began with some local garage sales as well as the creation of an online donor account on the crowdfunding site youcaring.com, where donations are still being accepted until the club reaches its goal of purchasing a new wheelchair.
“By the end of this month, we think we’ll have all the funds to order the wheelchair, and then move on to smaller projects the rest of the year,” Aslam said. “Once we get the funds for Kevin’s wheelchair, we will move on to something else.”
It was a special moment for the other club members to meet Lopez-Rendon, who attended the April 4 benefit concert that included a musical performance by Silva as well as dancers formerly trained at Lana’s Dance Studio.
“The reason why we started the club was that we knew there were a lot of disabled members in the community that don’t get the attention they need,” Aslam said. “He’s so young. He needs a wheelchair. It was so heartbreaking.”
Silva contacted an online wheelchair provider, gave the necessary specifications and even negotiated down the price. Once the funds reach $2,000, the wheelchair will be delivered—and then the club members will set their sights on helping others in need.
“That’s our goal,” Aslam said. “We’re planning to (continue) the club next year and have another focus and try to recruit ninth graders so they can keep the club going (after we graduate). We want people in our community to know that we care and we’re here to help.”
Mission: Fundraise for new wheelchair for 7-year-old boy suffering from DiGeorge Syndrome
How to help: Visit www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-fundraise-in-hopes-for-supporting-kevin-lopez-rendon-/307068
Contact: al********@gm***.com
