Bingham High raising money for Make-A-Wish and special education during holiday season

SOUTH JORDAN — Students at Bingham High School are kicking off the holiday season by giving and raising money for two deserving organizations.

It is part of the district’s effort to raise money for a variety of charities and causes for families in need.

All the Jordan School District high schools come together to raise money for different charities or organizations this time of year.

To give you an idea of how much the schools are giving back: Six high schools, including Bingham High, raised more than $625,000 last year.

“We fundraise all month long and then at the end, we give it to a charity that we’ve been supporting,” said Megan Tew, student body officer of service at Bingham High.

This year, funds raised by Bingham High will go toward Make-A-Wish Utah and Kauri Sue Hamilton School — a special education school in the district.

“By the end, you’re so tired but you just feel so happy because you know you’ve been serving and working so hard for a good cause,” Tew said.

Tew said it is so special because they have gotten to know kids at Kauri Sue.

According to Make-A-Wish Utah’s Mae Caine, the support will go toward granting wishes.

“There are five different kinds of wishes that they grant, and our goal this next year is to grant 230 more wishes,” Caine said.

There are currently 234 children in Utah waiting for their wishes to be granted.

“We’ve been doing this for 88 years, so people know what this is and people get excited every year when it comes around,” said student body president Ali Owens.

Owens said they have a Christmas market that’s new and a “Dancing with the Stars” event to keep things fun and fresh, all while giving back.

“I just hope that we come together as a community and that people can really see the effort they can have on people,” Owens said.

The fundraiser is going on from Dec. 2 until Dec. 20.