HERRIMAN, Utah — Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day of love. It’s often a day filled with candy, flowers, balloons and jewelry. In 2019, the National Retail Federation estimated Americans would spend more than $20 billion on the holiday.
It’s a day some love, and others hate. The female students at Herriman High School have a reason to love the day this year, whether or not they have a significant other.
The Herriman High Men’s Cross Country Team is raising money to buy a rose for every girl at the school.
“We just want to make sure that every girl in the school knows she matters to somebody,” one of the organizers and senior, Bridger Isbell said.
They want to buy 1,300 roses so they need to raise at least $2,000 for the roses, and water vials.
It’s about more than just a kind gesture, Isbell said. The group wants to make sure no one feels alone.
“I feel like at Herriman we’ve kind of had a history of people questioning whether they matter,” he said.
It’s personal for Isbell, he said he knows what it feels like to not feel wanted.
“I have definitely felt alone and scared to come to school. It wasn’t always a comfortable place for me,” he said.
Things have gotten much better, he added, but this is a good way to make sure no one is feeling alone.
“Having one day a year where you make people feel important is really exciting. It makes you feel good about yourself too,” Isbell said.
This isn’t the first year the team has turned into cupids come Valentine’s Day.
“It’s fun to help people feel good about themselves,” Evan Harris, a junior at Herriman High said.
This year, the group hopes to give more than ever before. They would love to exceed their $2,000 goal so they can make even more people feel special.
“We would love to help our new friends at Mountain Ridge give the same experience to every girl there and if we continue to raise more, we would love to include the boys,” Isbell said.
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