Heritage High School marching band needs more money for trip to Chik-fil-a Bowl

By: WSLS-TV Staff Reports | WSLS-TV 10
Published: November 19, 2008

If practice makes perfect the Heritage High School Band has been doing a lot of practicing this year.
They have been grand champions of all four competitions they have participated in this year.
After a rigorous audition, they were selected to play in the Chik-fil-a Bowl December 31
"We're the only band in VA who's going," Drum Major Brittany Wilson said.
Not only have they been working with their instruments, they have also been working to raise the more than $40 thousand it will take to send them to Atlanta.
"Most parents are trying to figure out how they're going to fill up their gas tanks or put food on the table much less put their students into the Georgia Dome at 400 dollars per student," Band Director Mike Hand said.
So the students have been fundraising -- selling things like boxes of fruit.
They are only a couple weeks from the final deadline and still about $6 thousand short.
"This is very disappointing. You're basically kind of pulling a rug out from underneath them," Hand said.
If the band does not make its goal, it will not only lose the hours its spent practicing, but it will also lose close to $10 thousand in deposits.
So the work continues -- not only to perfect the routine but to pay for it.
If you would like to make a donation, contact the school at 434) 582-1147.