COLBY, WI (OnFocus) – After winning the WIAA Division 6 State Football title game, the Colby Hornet seniors have experienced their last time playing together.
They will have nothing but memories, pictures and videos that will carry the memory of one of the most exciting times in their lives. That is, until local author and philanthropist Joseph “Dick” Lange gave the seniors another thing to help remember the journey by.
Lange saw on Facebook that the boys could keep their jerseys from their senior season if they paid a $75 fee to have it replaced. Just like that, Lange was trying to figure out, who to give money to in order to help these young men remember their trip to State for the rest of their lives.
Lange donated $1,200 to purchase all the jerseys for the 16 seniors. This is hardly Lange’s first philanthropic act. He has most notably donated thousands of dollars to the Abbotsford Sportsman’s Club to help enhance the hunter safety experience for prospective young hunters.
In an April interview, Lange said his poor upbringing helped him realize how important it is to give back.
“The biggest thing for me was we grew up really poor,” Lange said. “Now that I’ve kind of made it in my life and I remember those days, I want to give back. It’s just really important to give back.”
Soon after Lange’s donation, family members and community members alike had raised enough money to help the seniors keep their white away jerseys as well.
In total, $2,400 was raised so that the seniors could keep both their home and away jerseys.
The memories of the game, the season, time spent with friends and bringing a community together were made possible by the gracious donations of the small community.
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Author: News Desk
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