Fort Lupton High school students help the homeless

Three-on-three basketball tournament, ra e help Miracle House

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A Fort Lupton High School National Honor Society fundraiser May 11 managed to collect $1,000 for the Hope at the Miracle House, which provides shelter for homeless families.

“In between the tears, it’s amazing that the students thought of our homeless in the community, said Deb DeMille, Program Director.

“ e National Honor Society students are the best students that any principal can ever want to have. eir sacri ce for other people is incredible.” Fort Lupton Principal Doug Gordon.

“I’m glad that the kids have the opportunity to understand and learn the importance of being able to give back to a nonpro t that gives so much to families that go to the school,” said Annette Kokoszka, National Honor Society sponsor at Fort Lupton High School.

Kokozka said the National Honor Society has a yearly fundraiser event with a three-on-three basketball tournament each year. It is the third year doing the fundraiser. ey voted to donate to Hope at Miracle House for 2023.

“ e members of the National Honor Society vote for the nonpro t organization locally. All the proceeds this year will go to the Hope at Miracle House,” Kokozka said.

Kokozka said the students started putting the fundraiser together in mid-February and opened it up to the community, not just high school students.

“At the time, we wanted to get community members to form basketball teams, ve players to be able to play three-on-three. We created a bracket and ended up with nine teams, a mix of community teams, and a combination of student teams, Kokozka said. ey hosted a tournament April 26 after school but raised donations in several ways. ey also got a lot of donations from the school, di erent sports, and other businesses that were sold at a silent auction outside of the gym.

Kokozka said students could buy tickets to the tournament and support the fundraiser that way.NHS members had also collected donations from local businesses for a ra e, which were awarded at that game.

“So people could bid on items such as football helmets, jerseys, team swag, iPods, cheerleaders, and wrestling girls’ donated baskets,” Kokozka said. “ e girl’s sports team played as well.”

“With entry fees of the registered teams and the ra e and the silent auction items, we were able to raise just under $1,000,” Kokozka said

“Our students provide a huge contribution to those families. It’s great for them to be able to give back to something like that and have the opportunity to learn the importance of giving,” Kokoszka said.

“It’s great that we can support her in helping Fort Lupton parents through tough times,” Gordon said. “And I can’t say enough about Annette Kokozka as the leader of the National Honor Society, she’s unbelievable. She’s tireless at what she does for it to your work.”