The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The July 29th fundraiser to support Cooper Jenkins was a huge success, raising $67,000 to help defray medical costs for the Jenkins family. That total includes only the money raised through the auctions, dinner, raffles, and other fundraising activities that took place Saturday evening. Money has also been donated through a "Go Fund Me" page and via direct deposits to the bank. At the time of writing this article, the Go Fund Me page had raised $10,500.

The event was organized to aid the Jenkins family after Cooper was injured in a freak accident when a pocket of natural gas exploded while he was repairing the family well. He was eventually transported by jet to Salt Lake City. He was treated at a burn center there, and has been treated for burns to his face, ears, neck, and hands. This weekend's benefit was intended to help defray costs associated with his treatment.

I spoke with Lindsay Boyce, who organized the fundraiser. She explained that the whole thing started with the outpouring of offers to help out on Facebook. "When Cooper had his accident, everybody posted 'Well, I can do this' and 'I can do that.' So I just thought of the benefit to pull everybody together and use all of our resources in the best way to support Cooper and his family through all the medical expenses he's going to incur. It takes the stress off of him and his family, so he can focus on healing and getting better."

She went on to explain that the whole community pitched in to put on the benefit. "The amount of items that have been donated and the values on everything are just phenomenal. We have items that came from all across the Hi-Line that vary from $20 to $500 or $600 or even more than that. It's really amazing."

The items up for auction Saturday evening included around 150 items, with 48 being a part of the live auction. There was also a raffle for a 9 mm rifle and several 50/50 decks of cards for sale. In addition, a number of drawings were held. Donors purchased tickets that they dropped into bags for drawings to win various items. Among the auction items was a 9 month old border collie, that the Boyce family donated. Lindsay explained that training was part of the purchase of the puppy. "That's part of the auction package that we donated. We donated him and the winning bidder will take him home tonight. And then this winter, he'll come back to us for about 60 days of training to get him started to work cows."

Dinner for the event was organized by Amber Terry, with Courtney Gasvoda helping, to put together the Indian Taco supper. Amber explained the outpouring of generosity from the community when it came to the supper portion of the benefit. "Everything was donated, all the way from the ingredients, to the time, the help. My sister and I made the dough this morning and we had five people cooking at about 2:30 today. And of course, now we're serving." Amber explained that the Indian Tacos proved to be a popular attraction for the community. "We made roughly 300 pieces of bread. And I don't know exactly where we're at with it, but I'm pretty sure we're almost out." Amber explained her desire to help out with the benefit: "Cooper is a really, really good friend. I just volunteered to help, and I said,

'we're gonna sell tacos.' And then it all just kind of came together. Everybody said 'Okay, we're gonna donate this.' We had people donate hamburger, lettuce, tomato, onions, flour, taco seasoning." At $12 a plate, the food portion of the event was a significant fundraiser. Every dollar raised through the food sale went directly to the Jenkins family because the ingredients and work were all donated.

One of the recurring sentiments I heard throughout the evening interviewing locals who were pitching in to put on the benefit or showing up to support their neighbor was regarding the amazing attitude of the community when it came to helping one of their neighbors. "In my opinion, you couldn't find a better community. This town definitely knows how to come together for their people. And I'm happy to be a part of this. I mean, this is very fulfilling for me. Cooper does a lot of things for us. So I didn't hesitate at all."

Those who couldn't make it to the fundraiser Saturday night can still donate to help the Jenkins family with their expenses through the Go Fund Me page at https://gofund.me/faa39e2c or by giving at the bank, where money will be added directly to the appropriate accounts.