Taking a Whack at Helping an Ailing Friend

Boys really do like to hit things.

They lined up in droves on the lawn of Thousand Oaks High School Friday, holding out crumpled dollar bills for a chance to whack a heavy mallet against a board and send a weight rocketing skyward.

Between the cheers and jeers hurled at one another, the students also managed in the course of a lunch hour to raise $75 for a sick classmate who needs a heart transplant. On Friday, the school kicked off a fund-raising drive for sophomore Trevor Foster with the sledgehammer event. Trevor has an enlarged and damaged heart that doctors have said must be replaced as soon as possible. His name was just put on a list at UCLA to receive a transplant, school officials said.

His parents’ insurance will likely cover the cost of the operation, but Trevor’s schoolmates wanted to chip in to help with some of the unexpected costs associated with the illness, including phone bills, travel expenses and missed workdays for family members. “We felt very strongly that the community should get involved,” said Katie Krim, a member of student government. “It means a lot to him to know that we care about him.”

When she went to talk to some of Trevor’s classmates about his illness, she said some of them cried. “It hit me,” Katie said. Students also have a coin drive going, where members of the different classes are invited to drop change into a giant water bottle representing each grade.

A Sadie Hawkins dance fund-raiser is planned for later this spring. Katie and fellow organizer Jennifer Sharron, both juniors, said they hope to persuade telephone companies to donate calling cards to Trevor’s family. The goal is to raise “way over $1,000,” Katie said.

To that end, the 17-foot sledgehammer was dragged onto the school lawn Friday, courtesy of Lister Party Rentals, and everyone was invited to take two cracks at ringing the bell at the top for $1.

Katie implored members of her sex to join in--”We want to see some girls out here”--but the event drew almost all males.

Getting the bell to ring proved more difficult than most students thought.

“It’s impossible,” grumbled one young man whose whack sent the weight only halfway up the scale. “I give up.”

It took Karl Rogovin six tries and $3 before he hit the bell. For that he received a round of applause from his peers, a Yellowjacket CD and the satisfaction of helping a classmate.