WESTMINSTER : Boy Creates Benefit for Homeless

More than a year ago, Gary Goble made a list of goals he wanted to accomplish within a year and waited until the night before the deadline--his 13th birthday--to begin work on the most ambitious goal, a benefit dance show to help Orange County’s homeless.

“I just wanted to do something for somebody,” said Gary, 13, a veteran of seven years at the Westminster Dance School and a seventh-grader at Lexington Middle School in Cypress.

Gary recruited more than 30 of his fellow dancers, aged 7 to 18, from the school for two April 17 “Steppin’ Out for Shelter” shows at the Westminster Auditorium. He invited his best friends, some of his favorite schoolteachers, the mayors of Westminster and Cypress, and local television stations.

The youthful dance troupe is trying to raise money for printing show tickets and flyers. Gary said he expects to pack the 625-seat auditorium and contribute the proceeds to local homeless shelters in Westminster and Santa Ana.

In his promotional letter for the benefit, Gary summarized his personal philosophy: “I live in a nice house, and I’m lucky enough to have fresh food everyday. But there are tens of thousands who aren’t so lucky. These people live in the bushes or boxes and eat out of the trash can when they can find food in them. They need our help!”

Gary said his interest in helping the homeless grew out of a trip to the grocery store with his sisters.

“We went to get some milk and I saw a lot of homeless people,” he said. “There was one family and a guy that was blind.”

Shortly thereafter, he told his mother about his idea for a dance benefit.

“I ignored it and said nothing until the night before his birthday, when he was on the phone for about an hour and a half,” said Gary’s mother, Pat Hunter. “After the 20th call he said he contacted 20 kids and had set up a meeting. We were just sitting around scratching our heads.”

In the interest of time and money, the dancers will be performing routines they have already mastered and will wear the school’s costumes. If they fall short of funds, Gary said, he may have to ask his parents to make up the difference.

In any case, the show will go on. And, Gary said, “I will probably be real nervous.”

“I am hoping to bring a couple of homeless families to the benefit,” Goble said, “and maybe take them to dinner.”

Tickets can be purchased from the Westminster Dance School for $6 in advance and $8 at the door. For information, call (714) 531-3543.