LANCASTER – Calling all Antelope Valley High School alumni! Your financial assistance is needed to help kick start a new era at a great old high school.
On Jan. 14, hundreds of volunteers are expected to converge on the Antelope Valley High School campus to beautify and improve the school’s facilities as part of the City of Lancaster’s Martin Luther King Day of Service projects.
“It’s about all of us, along with the alumni and everyone else, coming together for the common purpose of serving our community and honoring a guy who paid it all so America could come together,” said Bishop Henry Hearns, Mayor Emeritus of the City of Lancaster.
Organizers are seeking monetary donations from AVHS alumni and members of the community to assist in funding the effort.
“What we are seeking is contributions from individuals who are conscious of the contribution this school made in their lives and who wish to give back to it,” said Pastor Chris Johnson, of Grace Chapel Church.
Johnson and Hearns joined members of the Antelope Valley Christian Ministerial Alliance and school officials for a press conference Saturday to encourage AVHS alumni and members of the community to provide monetary donations to help fund the Martin Luther King Day of Service projects at Antelope Valley High School.
While all monetary donations will be accepted, community members and AVHS Alumni are encouraged to participate in the 1K Challenge by donating $1,000 towards the cause through Grace Chapel Church.
Donors who take part in the 1K Challenge will have their names placed on a plaque that will be hung in the small gymnasium of the high school. Every dollar donated will go directly to improving the AV High School campus.
Principal Matt Anderson said three main renovation projects will be completed as part of the Martin Luther King Day of Service projects: the small gym, the bathrooms and the choir room.
In the small gym, also known as the “girls’ gym,” volunteers will paint the ceiling, repaint the walls and refinish the bleachers. “It’s going to be a complete overhaul of one of our older buildings on campus,” said Anderson. “We want to make it a facility that we can start hosting events in again and being proud to welcome the community into.”
Additionally, every bathroom on campus will be renovated as part of the service project, with work to include painting, re-fixing of tiles and thorough cleanings, said Anderson. “Students will see the benefit from this on the next school day,” he said. “It’s just going to really improve our school.”
And finally, the choir room will be modernized to give it more of an artistic flair. “It’s going to look like a room that a group of student musicians would want to be in,” Anderson said.
Volunteers will also be “deep cleaning” all the classrooms in the school, and painting and refinishing the students’ lockers, according to Anderson.
Volunteers who would like to assist in the Martin Luther King Day of Service projects at Antelope Valley High School on Jan. 14 need only to show up ready for work.
“I know that there are a lot of alumni out there in the Antelope Valley that value this place,” said Anderson. “What a great way to reconnect with the school by being a part of the workday here at Antelope Valley High School.”
To make a financial donation to the cause, donors are asked to make checks payable to Grace Chapel, with “Revive Antelope Valley High School facilities” on the check memo line. Payments can be dropped off in person or mailed to the church at 44648 15th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534. Donors can also contact Antelope Valley High School at 661-948-8552 for details on how to donate.
Lancaster City Council Member Ken Mann, an AVHS alumna, kick started donations Saturday by pledging $1,000 to the effort. He urged fellow classmates and graduates to follow suit by taking part in the 1K Challenge, as well.