WRIGHTSTOWN, Wis. (WFRV) – Paper planes soared through the air at halftime of the Little Chute and Wrightstown boys basketball game on Friday night, and it was all for a good cause.
Students in Wrightstown’s national honor society hosted their eighth annual ‘Fly Away Cancer’ event. Proceeds from the event went to former school board president Jeff Meulemans for expenses related to his battle with cancer.
“It takes my breath away that we can have such an impact,” Wrightstown student Ethan Hassemer said. “To see all the raffle baskets and know that’s going to help someone who really needs the help, there’s no better feeling.”
Hassemer was one of the students who played a key role in putting on the fundraiser. Students reached out to local businesses for them to donate raffle baskets. At the game, they also sold paper airplanes for $1 and had a miracle minute when students went into the stands with buckets to collect donations.
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Those who purchased the paper airplanes had a chance to throw them at a target at halftime to win prizes. The money raised at the event goes to Meulemans to assist him with expenses related to his cancer battle.
“It really means a lot and demonstrates the generosity that small town communities still have,” Hassemer told Local 5 News.
Meulemans was the school board president in Wrightstown for over two decades. Last summer, doctors diagnosed him with a rare form of sarcoma. He had two major surgeries in December, and this week was able to come back home for the first time in nearly two months.
“He raised five kids and had a dairy farm at home, and he still found time to show the importance of education to us,” his daughter Rochelle Coopman said. “He modeled that for us, and he knew it was important to have a voice in what was happening in the community and in the schools. He grew up here, and he wanted us to have the best experience here.”
Through their annual ‘Fly Away Cancer’ event, the Wrightstown students have been able to raise $50,000 for people in the community fighting cancer.
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Coopman said her family is thankful for the community support as they navigate this difficult time.
“When they first approached our family, my dad’s immediate response was, ‘No, somebody else needs this more,'” Coopman said. “We’ve learned from this that when you’re going through hard times, the most important thing is family and community. We’ve learned we’re blessed with the best in both of those areas.”
