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School 'family' raises $15,000 for ill coach
By STEVE SIMON ODESSA -- Principal Kathy Flanagan likes to think of Walker Middle School as "one big family." The accuracy of that sentiment was never more evident than at Friday evening's "Caring for Coach Hartley" benefit auction. Event organizer and sixth-grade science teacher Betsy Dillon said that close to 2,000 students, parents and staff members attended the gathering. Ninety percent of the staff participated, she estimated, demonstrating their commitment to a fellow teacher. Darin Hartley, 26, a fourth-year physical education teacher at Walker, was diagnosed with leukemia in October. He has not been back to school since. The father of two is now on unpaid leave in St. Louis, undergoing chemotherapy. The school has conducted a number of fundraisers to take the financial pressure off the Hartley family. Friday's benefit was by far the most successful event to date, raising approximately $15,000 after expenses, Dillon said. In addition to food and drink sales (including more than 250 pizzas), there were two lucrative auctions. For the silent auction, classes prepared gift baskets with themes such as Romance, Mexican Food and the Buccaneers. A live auction included vacations and autographed sports memorabilia. A football signed by Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks was one of the most hotly contested items. To encourage attendance, the PTSA combined the event with a general membership meeting. The school's chorus, drama club and orchestra provided entertainment. Dillon, who spoke to Hartley the day after the benefit, said he was "overwhelmed by the school's support." She has been told that Hartley has completed his third of five chemotherapy treatments. He is responding well to the regimen and doctors are hopeful that he will not need a bone marrow transplant. If his health improves, Hartley hopes to return to Tampa in May and to Walker in August. Among the items on display, guests greatly admired a portrait of Hartley painted by one of the students. Placed at the front of the room, it served as the focal point and a bright reminder of why everyone was there. Organizers had not planned to auction it, but they succumbed to crowd requests that it be put on the block. The high bidder donated the portrait back to Walker, with the stipulation that it be framed and displayed in the school.
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From the Times |
