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Riverton students raise over $170,000 to benefit domestic violence resources at The Refuge Utah

By Curtis Booker - | Dec 27, 2024
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Students and faculty from Riverton High School along with The Refuge Utah staff are shown at the Silver Rush closing assembly on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Students raised $173,487.25 for the Utah County nonprofit.
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Students and faculty from Riverton High School along with The Refuge Utah staff are shown at the Silver Rush closing assembly on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Students raised $173,487.25 for the Utah County nonprofit.

For most high school students, the days leading up to the long Christmas holiday break are spent cramming for tests and planning on how to make the most of the days away from the classroom.

But at Riverton High School, students put their energy into an annual fundraiser that amassed close to $200,000 that will go toward broadening domestic violence resources in Utah County.

Each year, students participate in what’s called the “Silver Rush,” a series of fundraising efforts throughout the month of December in which community members, parents and businesses get involved, all with the goal of raising funds for a local charity.

This year, they chose to donate proceeds to The Refuge Utah, a center providing support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Orem.

Ashlee Taylor, the executive director at The Refuge Utah, explained that students reached out to the organization to learn about the services it provides and decided to support the nonprofit.

‘The students recognized that they have fellow students that have had to deal with sexual assault and domestic abuse and felt that it hit close to home to be able to support The Refuge,” Taylor told the Daily Herald in an email.

Students did everything from selling goods to odd jobs in the community, penny war competitions and a host of other events to gather funds.

During an assembly Dec. 20, which marked the end of the fundraising drive, a purple banner was lowered inside the school’s gymnasium revealing the grand total students raised over the more than two-week period.

“What an amazing Silver Rush season! Thank you to the Riverton High community for helping us raise $173,487.25 for The Refuge Utah,” the school announced in a post on its social media page.

Taylor expressed her gratitude for the students and their willingness to help expand support for adults and children escaping traumatic situations.

“It means so much to our agency and the survivors that we work with that these students recognized the need for support,” Taylor said. “They put their heart and souls into the Silver Rush and it showed in everything they did.”

The Refuge Utah says the raised funds will be a big help, as it is working to secure a bigger space for survivors served by the organization.

“We are so amazed at the amount they raised this year,” Taylor said. “These funds will go towards the new facility that The Refuge Utah is planning to build in the coming year.”

In August, Taylor told the Daily Herald that the organization is working to build a new Utah County facility to accommodate the growing need for domestic and sexual abuse resources.

“We are still in the early stages of our fundraising campaign for our new facilities, but we are excited to receive this donation towards that project,” Taylor said.

In addition to the various means of fundraising, Taylor added that the students also learned about the impacts of domestic abuse and created projects in their school to raise awareness about the issue.

“They were great ambassadors in the community about what we do and the need for support for survivors,” Taylor said.

While the holidays are a time of giving, joy and cheer, they also can be challenging for relationships.

Taylor says she encourages people who are in abusive relationships to reach out for help no matter the day, time or season.

“Our 24/7 hotlines are available through the holidays for anyone needing to reach out for support,” she said.

Riverton High School was one of six schools in the Jordan School District participating in holiday fundraising drives, all of which selected a different organization to support.

According to the district, a total of $645,935 was raised between all six schools during the campaign.