A population of over 2,000 raising more than 40,000 dollars in order to make a difference for one little girl and an entire community. During the week of Feb. 4-8 the community at Cherokee Trail participated in their annual Wish Week event. This year, students, staff, and businesses alike united in order to send Raegan, a three year old girl with leukemia to Disney World.

At the end of a week filled with festivities that raised a large sum of the donations, the Wish Week assembly was held on the morning of Friday Feb. 8, 2018. The assembly began with the parade of athletes and honors, and ended with the traditional check reveal that proved to the students that coming together as one can have a large impact.

Filled with enchanting underwater-inspired performances by the poms team and dance comp. class, as well as a musical performance by students Taren Hayes (12) and Mac Bowman (12) who dressed as Ariel and Prince Eric , this year’s wish week assembly was far from unimpressive.

“…this assembly is about coming together and choosing to let our actions speak louder than our words…” Mrs. Tammy Johnson said at the assembly, reminding the community that their participation in Wish Week is what allows us to make a difference. “Thank you for choosing to be a part of Raegen’s world,” Mrs. Johnson added.

Before the reveal of the check, Mrs. Johnson also said, “This is what wish week is all about guys. This is when you guys understand the importance that no single act ever makes anything happen. We truly are better together. We came together and rode the wave to rally for Raegen. Regardless of our age, our race, our religion, our gender, our sexuality, or our political affiliations, we united in our diversity to make a difference for someone else.”

Through this unification of the community we were able to raise a total of $40,020 and help Ragen find light even in her difficult situation. In her speech at the assembly, Raegen’s older sister Lexi stated, “I used to think my little sister could never make me this happy, but now I know she brings joy into my life. As I am saying this I am realizing that Raegan is not only my hero but she is everyone’s hero as well.” With Lexi’s kind words accompanied with a video of Raegen where she proclaimed, “I Love CT,” it was hard not to feel a part of this little girl’s world.