From The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Fundraising for Ramona’s Fourth of July fireworks show will get a boost from a raffle that will feature a large shed made by Montecito High School construction students.
The winner of the students’ handmade 8-foot-by-12-foot building will be selected at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 26 near the end of the National Day of the Cowboy event being sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. The event is from noon to 5 p.m. at the Ramona Outdoor Community Center, 421 Aqua Lane.
Proceeds from the raffle will be put toward the July 4th Family Picnic & Fireworks Show presented by the Ramona Chamber of Commerce, the Ramona Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club of Ramona.
Chamber Executive Director Joe Stupar said $20,000 has been raised for this year’s fireworks show, held annually behind Ramona High School near 16th Street. But another $15,000 is needed, he said.
Stupar estimates up to $5,000 can be raised by the shed raffle alone, since tickets cost $10 apiece or $50 for six tickets or $100 for 14 tickets. So far, roughly 250 tickets have been sold and 250 more are available for sale.
Stupar said the shed raffle is an example of how three service organizations, a school and its students and teacher, are coming together to raise money for an event that benefits the entire community.
“This is a prime example of everybody coming together for a community event,” said Stupar, who hopes to replicate this type of fundraising effort in the future. “I’m proud of all of us for working together.”
Raffle tickets can be purchased at the Ramona Chamber of Commerce by calling their office at 760-789-1311 or emailing them at Rccstaff@ramonachamber.com. Raffle tickets can also be purchased from Sharon Parker of the Kiwanis club by calling her at 1-619-962-1551 or by contacting Christie Carlson at San Vicente Mortgage at 1-760-787-1700. Tickets may also be purchased at the National Day of the Cowboy event from noon to 4 p.m. before the 4:05 p.m. drawing.
Donations for the July 4th Family Picnic & Fireworks Show, which will include food trucks and vendors, are also accepted at participating stores in Ramona and online at ramonachamber.com. A final fundraising drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next two Saturdays at Stater Bros. and Albertsons grocery stores in Ramona.
The sturdy shed with a door, window and electrical hookups can be used as a “small office, man cave or she-shed, or storage shed,” said Montecito High construction teacher Nicholas Jordan. Just the materials for the wooden structure with a roof cost $3,000, he said.
Completed on April 28 after two weeks of work, the project was initiated by the Swinerton Design Build Competition. The Swinerton construction company paid for the building materials and provided architectural plans.
In the contest, open to students in California, the Montecito students received an honorable mention plaque and were allowed to keep the building they made.
Jordan said the school could have sold the building to funnel money into their construction program, but they chose instead to donate it to the fireworks fund.
“The community has done so much for us that we’d love to give back,” Jordan said. “This is just a small token of our appreciation.”
Montecito High sophomore Thomas Leech, 16, said building the shed was an educational process that involved reading blueprints, using tools such as a tape measure and level, and tackling the challenges of laying down a plywood floor and adding a roof.
“I know all the students put in hard work and gave it their best effort,” Leech said of his classmates in three intermediate and one advanced construction class. “Everyone played a role in it. I was just glad to be a part of it.”
Leech, who is considering a career in construction or automotive repair, said he’s hoping whoever wins the shed takes good care of it.
“I don’t want to drive by their house and see this in disarray with the windows cracked or the electrical ripped out of it,” Leech said. “I don’t want to see something we worked so hard on get messed up.”
Montecito High junior Kaleb Koeberlein, 17, said he helped build the walls, add siding and install the door.
“I learned how to build an actual real-sized house,” Koeberlein said. “We went from working on something miniature to a full-size like this. It all came together and it looks amazing now.”
Koeberlein added that he can’t wait to see how happy the raffle winner will be when they get to use the building.
Kael Spilman, a 16-year-old Montecito High sophomore, gave credit to their teacher. Jordan was not allowed to help build the shed but had given the students the foundation they needed to do it on their own, he said.
“All of the things that Mr. Jordan taught us has built us up to this point,” Spilman said. “It’s the best it could be because of the way Mr. Jordan taught us. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think this project would have turned out as well as it did. He taught us what we needed to do.”
The cancellation of last year’s fireworks show due to COVID-19 was a “bummer,” Spilman said. But he said he’s hopeful their shed donation will help people enjoy a fireworks display this year.
“Now that we’re donating this for the fireworks fund it will help people during the pandemic and cheer them up a little,” Spilman said.
A YouTube video that shows the students building the shed can be seen by searching “Video made by Montecito High School construction program.”
Stupar said RBS Towing will deliver the shed free of charge within Ramona but a fee will apply for long-distance hauling on a flatbed truck outside the community.
“The shed project showcases what the school is doing and what the kids are learning,” Stupar said. “People will have a chance of spending $10 and winning a shed worth $3,000 to $4,000.”