Sugarcreek and Garaway Middle and High School assists in healing process for Raber boys after loss of their father

  • By Dave Mast
  • February 15, 2016
  • 682
Sugarcreek and Garaway Middle and High School assists in healing process for Raber boys after loss of their father
                        
When triumph is born from tragedy, it is usually because a group of caring people show enough compassion and love to step into a void to help meet a need. Such was the case recently for three young boys from the Garaway Local School District, where a concerted effort from the community has helped create a financial cushion following a tragic event. A fundraiser dinner took place Feb. 5 before the Pirates’ boys basketball game with Tuscarawas Central Catholic, and what came together in a very short time period turned into an emotional, meaningful time for the community. In fact, several different fundraisers came about for the three sons of Eddie Raber, who recently passed away. The Raber boys’ mother is currently incarcerated, while their father, Eddie, who was raising the boys by himself, suddenly passed away at the age of 39 from a heart attack. That left the boys without a parent, but they were far from alone. The first and most important step in the healing process came when their aunt and uncle, Vernon and Edna Beachy, agreed to take the boys into their home. A concerted effort from the Sugarcreek community grew rapidly, and several fundraisers cropped up that helped provide some financial support for the boys and the Beachy family. Garaway 7-12 assistant principal and athletic director Chip Amicone said that a large number of the Pirate moms, headed up by Susie Schlabach, Bev Keller and a host of concerned moms, teamed up with the athletic department to organize the rigatoni dinner at the Belden Center. “There were a lot of women cooking about 50 pounds of pasta,” Amicone said. “We had sauce donated form all over the place. The were carting in applesauce and other items from the elementary schools. I would say just about every teacher in this district donated something.” The community response was far greater than they had even anticipated, so the moms went to work gain, whipping up more pasta. The head count was 650 people and counting before the 6 p.m. junior varsity tip-off between the Saints and Pirates, and the numbers continued to grow. “That says a lot about how caring people are here,” Amicone said. “We had so many people who wanted to help, and it was like a well-oiled machine. Everyone came together for a great cause.” The idea was to create a fundraiser that worked on multiple levels. First, the dinner and penny war would create a bulk sum of money that would go to the family. In addition, a portion of the money raised through the dinner will be set aside for the Raber boys, and kept in an athletic fund. As the three young men progress through their school lives, the fund will serve as a way for them to purchase all of the athletic supplies they might need. Currently, the two eldest boys are involved with football and wrestling, and the idea behind the fundraiser was to make sure they never were in need. The idea for the fundraiser came from local businessman and Pirates supporter Jeremiah Johnson. “We have three young boys coming up through our school district that don’t have a father or a mother’s income now,” Johnson said. “We wanted to create something to where these kids would never get behind the eight ball when it comes to sports.” Johnson said he was simply the initiator of the idea. He credited the Garaway athletic department, the school staff and caring community members with making it such a success. “The dinner, the whole night, was made possible because of the hard work of the staff at Garaway,” said Johnson. “No matter what happens, things like this happen and the community comes through to make a difference in people’s lives.” In addition to the dinner, Garaway 7-12 and the National Honor Society, headed up by Jess Schwartz, also held a “penny wars” contest, in which each class tried to raise the most money in change. Of course, the teachers also had their shot at topping the chart, and together, they raised upwards of $3,000. That meant in a very short period of time, the school had generated $13,000 for the Raber boys. “We had fun collecting as classes, and it was competitive,” Amicone said. “The last I’d heard the staff was in front, but it was close.” It wasn’t enough, as the senior class pulled out a victory in the end. Just up the road to the west, a fundraiser of another type was taking place. Jimmy Mast of Light In the Valley Church had heard about the Raber situation, and knew they attended Sharon Church, which is about one mile away from LIV. Realizing the boys needed support, he hatched the idea of having a local business come in to speak on their mission Sunday, Jan. 31. The LIV mission team liked the idea of having a local group of Christian businessmen speak, and chose a trio of brothers, Michael, John and Dave Mast from AloNovus, to speak about faith in the workplace. Michael Mast shared the story of how The Bargain Hunter grew into AloNovus, and how the family’s faith, which began with their father and mother, Abe and Fran, has maintained the idea of creating a product that was faith-based. “We were blown away and humbled that they would think of us for such a meaningful moment,” said Michael Mast. As part of the service, LIV members each took a business from The Bargain Hunter, went out in small groups and prayed for each business, before returning. The other part of the service was the missions offering. While often times those funds go overseas to aid missionaries around the world, this time the church chose to present the Raber boys with 60 percent of the offering, a total which neared $6,000. “There was a family in need, and we realized that we could step in and be an extension of God’s grace through our giving,” said Jimmy Mast. “We are all called to help our brothers and sisters in need, and our mission board felt very good about doing this.” While the boys have been through tragic times, the support of caring people throughout the community has helped at least ease some of the immediate financial burden the family will face. Whether through pennies, rigatoni or financial gifts, the compassion and love exhibited throughout these many efforts shows how much of an impact a community can have on lives.


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