2024 RISE Chairs

Jeb Balogh ~ Mary Grace Butler ~ Emily Cooper

 Woodson Moss ~ Kaya Soniat

Accounting: Emily Kiel, Adam Watson & Addie Wright

Activities: Reese Fetner, Amelia Preston, Aliza Ziauddin, Gibson Bean & John Harris Hocutt

Entertainment: Sara Pennino & Teagan McGrew

Freshman Campus: Emily Kiel, Jack Graveline, Claire Preston & Wyatt Schultz

Fundraising: Mary Cecelia Ledbetter & Caroline Lawley

Kids Day: Ellie Glenn & Lofton Orkus

Logistics: Graham Ferguson, Ben Mendheim & Blair Steele

Luminaries: Mallory Cowan, Ainsley Kelly, Grace Mehrer & Chapman Newsom

Liberty Park Connection: Anna Germano & Haleigh Kelley

Pizitz Connection: Meg Parker Pugh & Claire Evans

Publicity: Campbell Price & Faith Wood

Rebel Run: Andrew Bentley, Luke Parsons, Olivia Plant & Kate Schmitz

Sadie Hawkins: Leyden Schriener & Lilly Stockard

Sports: Miles Plugge & Lankford Gurner

Team D: Mary Catherine Morrow, Libby Woodham, Ivy Machua, Jake Simpson, Charlie Ingram

VIP Reception: Sophie Williams

   Trak Shak

City of Vestavia Hills

Agile Physical Therapy

McWane Foundation

Regions Bank

Engineering Design Group

CBRE

Benevity

IN A YEAR WHEN EVERYTHING WAS SHUT DOWN, VHHS STUDENTS RISE UP

This is our pandemic story.

On March 13, 2020, Governor Kay Ivey announced that all schools in the state were to be closed immediately. It was less than 24 hours before the 11th annual Rebel Run was to be held. The next day, and the days that followed, the school was quiet; the parking lot was empty, and that was the end of RISE season and the remainder of the school year. There were no exams, no awards days, no prom or graduation for the Class of 2020.

During the next 15 months, the shut downs and restrictions continued. The world was in a full blown pandemic and nothing was the same. People navigated unchartered waters in every aspect of life, especially school. Learning remotely and wearing masks became the norm. Isolation and social distancing replaced pep rallies and dances. School spirit was in a closet and the culture seemed to be shifting.

In the midst of it all, students at VHHS decided to RISE as best they could, within the limitations in which their world now existed. From January 2020 to April 11, 2021, during the worst pandemic the world has seen since 1918, these students, including the class of 2020, rose like never before. Their focus was not on what they could not do but on what could be done. This “can-do” spirit served them and their community well.

During those 15 months, they managed to raise $337,365 for the fight against cancer, but that is only part of the story. They created new events as well as new ways of raising money and awareness. Throughout the community, yards signs and red bows began to pop up, promoting “Togetherness” – the theme for the year. Senior Sunrise, Touch-a-Truck, even an all-student prayer service were created.

Due to COVID, RISE Day 2020 was merely a time when the community was encouraged to shine their lights at their own houses while athletic facility lights burned to honor lost spring sports seasons along with a lost RISE Day event. RISE Day 2021 was much different. School spirit came roaring back with more than 1,000 people at the outdoor festival that included live music, games and competitions.

The highlight of the event took place after dark in the stadium when the Ceremony of Light honored cancer survivors and those we’ve lost. Community members joined students as they listened to the beautiful music of VHHS choir members and remembered loved ones with a walk around the track lined with 1,700 luminaries.

After a school year like never before, RISE Day was a special time illustrating the Power of Together. We salute those students who worked hard to create this experience for all and who supported a cause greater than themselves. RISE proceeds support the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. The Kids Day event benefitted the Rucker Collier Foundation.