Published: October 06, 2008 04:48 pm      

BPA students raise money to benefit hurricane relief

Matt Lee, Cleburne High School senior, is an aspiring business professional.

Some would say he’s already one. He works for the Cleburne ISD information technology department. He has his own business cards.

At the moment, his task is to help organize members of the CHS chapter of Business Professionals of America to raise funds for a worthy cause. Lee is president of the local group.

BPA calls the project Hike for Ike. The students are accepting per-mile pledges and donations for the event, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the CHS track.

Money raised will go to Salvation Army and American Red Cross, which assisted southeast Texas residents displaced by the recent hurricane. A number of those residents traveled to Johnson County to wait out the storm.

“People can pledge or donate however much they like,” Lee said. “I’ve had pledges of $3 per mile and $7.50 per mile. If I end up walking 20 miles, that $3 will turn into $60, so even the smallest amount helps.

“I pledged $10 per mile to myself. That’s $100 if I do 10 miles. I’ll scrounge it up somewhere. It’s a good cause.”

BPA members are hitting up community business titans.

“All the business leaders and community leaders we’ve asked for pledges and donations have been more than happy to help,” Lee said. “They’re glad to see kids out there doing something helpful.”

The officers, as well as faculty advisers Lisa Benson and Rebecca Roe, came up with the idea for the project.

“It’s modeled after similar things such as Relay For Life,” Lee said. “It’s a fun thing to do to benefit the community.”

BPA members are involved in a number of charitable projects.

“We’ve traditionally done Thanksgiving baskets, Toys for Tots, Christmas in Action, Christmas in April and Christmas angels,” Lee said. “We’re starting to do more things to promote different causes.”