Texting Competition Is All For A Good Cause

SPOKANE — Students tend to get into trouble if they’re caught texting, but not on this occasion. Thanks to two Central Valley High School students, dozens of thumbs furiously punched in messages for a good cause.

Sophomores Brooke Jackson and Kassie Panther were the brains behind Saturday’s event. It’s a fundraiser for 7-year-old Hayden Stipe who has cerebral palsy.

“The money from this goes to him and his family and help raise money for his treatments which are in Poland,” said Brooke Jackson, one of the event’s organizers.

Brooke and Kassie decided to put a texting competition together for one of their classes because they thought it would be an easy sell.

“We wanted something that would get the kids interested. A huge thing these days is texting for the high schoolers. We thought high school kids plus texting plus great prizes would equal a great event,” said Kassie Panther.

And no one is more text savvy than today’s high schoolers.

“Students are always texting. You can’t walk into a classroom without seeing someone texting. If you go into detention, there’s tons of kids in there texting and they’re in there for texting!” Said Kassie.

To keep things fair, Brooke and Kassie made sure everyone and every phone could compete.

“There’s a keypad bracket for the regular standard flip phones, and then there’s a keyboard bracket for Sidekicks, Blackberries, iPhones, etc,” said Panther.

Prizes included cash, concert tickets and gift cards, and of course claiming the title of texting king or queen.

But the biggest prize of them all was knowing a local family need would get some financial help.

“Our ultimate goal is to raise a lot of money and help Hayden with his treatments,” said Kassie.

Hayden’s condition is improving thanks to his treatments and a few students who care a lot to send a few text messages.