JEROME, Idaho — A Jerome High School student organization is kicking off its academic year with a soccer game fundraiser, combining community engagement with cultural celebration during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
The Jerome High School chapter of Latinos in Action hosted its first cookout fundraiser of the year at a local soccer game, capitalizing on the sport's popularity in both the Magic Valley and Hispanic community.
"It's like organization where we could like prepare ourselves for college and stuff, and also helps us to become more of a leader," said Chris Garcia, president of the group.
Garcia explained how Latinos in Action emphasizes leadership, career and college preparation, service, and literacy. For him personally, the organization has provided social growth opportunities.
"And also help us like become more of a leader for me. It's helped me get more social and stuff," Garcia said.
The cookout represents the first major event of the academic year for the student group, which has ambitious plans ahead. Faculty advisor Melissa expressed enthusiasm about the students' dedication and the fundraiser's potential impact.
"We're pretty excited about it. They've been working on it for a couple weeks. I'm really proud of all the work that they've done, and hopefully we can get some money in here for some of our conferences and parade floats, and some of the service that they wanna do," Melissa said.
Student Deiciadamari Diaz has participated in Latinos in Action since middle school and looks forward to mentoring younger members. She emphasized the organization's focus on service and cultural sharing.
"We focus a lot on service and how to help people as well as dancing. I mostly focus on like showing how our culture is, and what we like to do.. make it fun and exciting for people," Diaz said.
Diaz draws inspiration from her own childhood experiences with community events, particularly the homecoming parade.
"When I was younger, I always loved to see the homecoming like how they did the parade and how like how they threw candies to us, that was like always like my favorite part," Diaz said.
The group continues accepting candy donations for upcoming community events, including the homecoming parade and Main Street's trunk-or-treat Halloween celebration.
National Hispanic Heritage Month runs through October 15, highlighting the cultural exchange and community stewardship that organizations like Latinos in Action promote year-round.
