In a matter of days, Haas found a company from which he could rent bleachers for the students, worked with administrators on getting approvals and raised more than the $4,500 in a matter of hours, with more coming in during the following days.
When the Tippecanoe Red Devils take to the field tonight, the students again will have a cheering section with bleachers.
“When I saw the comments on Facebook at how angry people were I thought, ‘We can just take matters in our own hands and make it happen ourselves,’” Haas said.
He located a company that rented bleachers in northern Ohio, called and found they could be rented and delivered fairly quickly.
Haas collaborated with the school’s athletic director and administrators to secure needed approvals.
That process took about two days, starting with an approval to raise funds this week. He went to football practice when the fundraiser started. During that time, thousands of dollars were raised.
Kim Hagen, the district’s business operations director, said replacement bleachers installed this summer because of safety concerns have fewer seats than in the past. It wasn’t feasible to designate a section for students only, though they have the option to sit in the new home section, she said.
“We truly have strong, supportive students who like to cheer on the Red Devils as a group. So, the district opted to designate an area on the grass hill at the south end zone near the band for our students to gather as a group if they so wished,” Hagen said.
Officials were concerned that students would be near the band, which would cause issues for the band parents experiencing the performances, Haas said.
“This exceptional young man saw a problem, accepted the challenge, and found a solution,” Hagen said.
The temporary bleachers will be placed on the home side of the field on the south end instead of the normal north end. The players will still be able to see the students, Hagen said.
As a player, that’s important, Haas said.
“When you are on the field it is pretty much the rock to the team when everyone is cheering you on and you have the hype squad out there jumping around. It means more than probably most parents realize,” he said.
Haas is in the district’s heavy equipment operator program and hopes one day to own his own construction company.
As of Thursday afternoon, 122 donors were listed on the fundraiser account with more than $8,500 donated. The money left over from bleacher rental will pay for additional rental if there are playoff games at the stadium, Haas said. Anything left over will be donated to the schools, he said.
Hagen called the effort by Haas “a great example to all of us.”
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