Early morning shoppers found treasure at the JROTC rummage sale this past weekend.

Early – really early – last Saturday morning members of Crescenta Valley High School’s JROTC began sorting and pricing the hundreds of items for their rummage sale fundraiser.

“We used to have a car wash [as a fundraiser]. But with the water conservation we had to come up with another idea,” said Hari Kim, a JROTC member.

A rummage sale seemed like a good alternative. JROTC members went into their families’ closets and garages to help support the fundraiser.

“Most of the donations came from the cadets and their families,” Kim said.

A few items came in from CVHS teachers who were contacted by JROTC teacher and mentor Lt. Col. Dave Worley. There were all types of items for sale from kitchen treasures to books and furniture available for the savvy rummage sale shopper.

“[Shoppers] arrived early. We were here before 6 a.m. and they were already waiting,” Kim said.

JROTC is a leadership program at the school. The majority of students who are members do not go into military service when they leave high school.

“I am not really military. I have been in JROTC for four years and have learned about leadership,” Kim said.

Her interest is in math and science and she is considering a career as an engineer.

The funds raised from the rummage sale will go toward JROTC events like the year-end awards banquet and bi-annual military balls.

“I think [this event] went extremely well,” said parent booster Lynn Bender.

She, along with husband Jim and other booster members, helped support the sale but emphasized that it was the cadets who organized and worked the event.

Daughter Helen Bender is a freshman; this is her first year in JROTC.

“I am learning leadership and [discipline],” Helen said.

Helen is a figure skater and understands very well what it means to be dedicated to a project.

“I think figure skating has helped me in ROTC and ROTC has helped me in figure skating,” she added.

The next event the cadets will be preparing for is an aviation expo on March 19 and March 20. The school’s campus will be transformed into an aviation museum with hands-on programs as well as photos of the history of human air flight from past to present. The event will have three guest speakers who will share their aviation stories. A few World War II pilots are expected to be on hand to talk about their experiences. There will be an emphasis this year on the early years of space flight as seen through the eyes of the military.

Next year the cadets will look at space flight from a civilian viewpoint.

“This year the CVHS band will have their barbeque fundraiser on the same day on campus,” Worley said.

The jazz band will be performing. It will be a day of music and museum and an opportunity for visitors to support two hard working programs on campus.

  cvhs, jrotc, rummage