Since the Rock ‘n Roll dance did not gain much student support, Student Council (STUCO) is currently collecting donations for Oakville High School’s Special Olympics (SOMO) annual basketball tournament.

Ticket sales fell short for the Rock ‘n Roll dance, selling only eight tickets. STUCO decided to cancel the dance since they did not reach their ticket quota. STUCO lost a couple hundred dollars when they placed their deposit for a DJ for the Rock ‘n Roll dance, which was supposed to raise the funding.

In response to the deficit, Sohrab Azad (11), STUCO exec said, “It just encourages us to reach out to more businesses for help with donations, but the good part about it is that we are creating an alliance of sorts with the local businesses, so if we need them later on in the future we can ask.”

STUCO will receive money from each volunteer when they sign up and purchase a shirt, but that is not enough to cover the whole tournament. Each STUCO exec was asked to reach out to five local businesses and ask for donations to fill the athlete’s goodie bags. So far they have received donations from Oakville Dental Care, Jimmy Johns, Firehouse Subs, Orange Leaf, and Americorps. Also, STUCO has received donations from faculty, students, and local universities.

Also, STUCO will be playing annoying music at each lunch in order to raise more funds for SOMO. Mrs. Kelli Roberts will let the execs know of a specific amount for each lunch that the execs will then collect from the students in order to stop the music.

When asked if STUCO has enough donations, Sophie Nelms (12), STUCO vice president said, “We hope, right now, no. We hope in a month or so we will have enough.”

Around 200 athletes will need to be accompanied by a buddy for the SOMO tournament. STUCO execs and Roberts (sponsor of STUCO) are not worried about having enough volunteers for the tournament.

“SOMO should go great this year as it has for the past few years. It is always a great turnout since students are so eager to help and many schools come to our huge annual event. It should go very well this year and our goal is to make it even better next year,” Azad said.

SOMO will be held Feb. 19 from 10 to 1:30 at OHS. If you are wanting to volunteer either as a buddy or at a booth in victory village (games, crafts, etc. in the commons for athletes in between games), contact STUCO for a volunteer form.