Response to aid FC grad's family tops $8,000
Melissa Hunter |
Support exhibited for Franklin Central graduate Melissa Hunter and her family during a festive seven-hour fundraiser on Monday, July 7, brought a community response that went far beyond expectations.
The event - a collaborative promotion of Franklin Central High School radio station WRFT, the FC Marching Flashes band and Chick-fil-A at Southport Road restaurant - topped the $8,000 mark in collections.
Melissa Hunter, 18, suffered a stroke during Franklin Central's Commencement exercises on Wednesday, May 28, in the FCHS gymnasium. She was rushed to Methodist Hospital, where she was placed in a drug-induced coma. She began coming out of the coma several weeks later, and on Wednesday, July 9, was transferred to a rehabilitation center on the west side of Indianapolis.
The fundraising event, staged at Chick-fil-A, featured a live "radiothon-type" broadcast on WRFT and music on the parking lot provided by the high school band throughout the seven-hour affair. During her high school career, Melissa had been a member of the FC band program.
Update: Melissa Hunter Melissa Hunter, the Franklin Central High School graduate who collapsed during the school's commencement in late May, is now in therapy on the main campus of Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana. The RHI 's main campus is located at 4141 Shore Drive near I-465 and 38th Street on the northwest side of Indianapolis. According to Dan Fyffe, director of bands at Franklin Central, Hunter is able to accept visitors from 6-9 p.m. daily, following the hospital's dinnertime. No visitors are allowed during the day due to the therapy sessions Melissa is undergoing after suffering a stroke in the high school's gymnasium during graduation ceremonies. In an email dispatched to the media, Fyffe said Hunter is now able to talk. "She does suffer paralysis in the right arm and leg, but she is gaining strength daily." RHI personnel, according to Fyffe, estimate six weeks of therapy will be required. Fyffe added that the Hunter family is deeply moved by the generosity shown during a recent fundraiser coordinated by Franklin Central's student radio station WRFT, the FC Marching Flashes and event host Chick-fil-A at Southport Road. They were joined by numerous organizations and individuals in generating more than $8,000 in financial assistance during the "Help for Hunter" promotion. |
Also during event, Wii, Corn Hole and Guitar Hero tournaments were available for high school-age students, as well as many other games and face-painting opportunities for younger children.
Among "Help for Hunter" donations were $1,750 from Chick-fil-A, representing a portion of the restaurant's food sales during the 5 p.m. to midnight promotion, and nearly $1,000 collected by members of the Franklin Township Fire Department.
Firefighters at Station 551 in Wanamaker constructed and raffled off a set of Corn Hole boards in facilitating donations for the fundraiser. The firefighters - the same crew that responded to Melissa's emergency at the graduation ceremony - included Lieutenant Billy MacLeod, Rick Algood, Mike Anderson, Tim Harte, Mike Roethler, John Stuart and Marilyn Zehner. Bev Hoover was winner of the set of Corn Hole boards.
Melissa's father, Buddy Hunter, joined the fundraising event, where he spent time thanking those on hand and was interviewed by media. Buddy was an active participant in the Band Boosters organization.
Helping to coordinate the students' "Help for Hunter" fundraising event were FC's director of bands, Dan Fyffe; WRFT's general manager, Steve George; and Chick Fil A's owner-operator, Matt Sewell, and his staff.
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