I know the direct impact we've had on our community because I know we're physically working to make people's lives better that might be struggling.”

senior-to-be Sunshine Fund board member Allie Larsen

People helping people; that's exactly what the River Falls High School Sunshine Fund was doing last week at their ninth annual golf tournament fundraiser at Kilkarney Hills in River Falls.
Leo Stamets will be a junior this year at River Falls High School. He's starting his second year on the Sunshine Fund board, a student-led volunteer group that also includes community adult mentors raising money to support district families in need.
"The coolest thing about the Sunshine Fund is how such a small group of people can make such a big difference," Stamets said. "It really is the power of teamwork. We'll meet for like one hour, and the amount of people we can help from one hour is incredible."
The Sunshine Fund started in 2016 when five students approached RFHS Principal Kit Luedtke. One family in River Falls, at the time, had plenty of friends and received generous amounts of support during their health struggle. Another single mother was dealing with a similar health issue and didn't have too many friends and zero financial help. That was the reason the Sunshine Fund began.
The River Falls Sunshine Fund has raised over $275,000 for over 600 families in the last nine years.
"People don't realize exactly how many people they're closely knit to in their community that are struggling," Stamets said. "I look at things differently now because my eyes have been opened to it."
"We deal with a lot of mature topics, but they (the students) handle it really well," said Colleen Janke, the out-going adult mentor Sunshine Club President. "The kids run the meetings and they help decide the gifts."
Janke had a plethora of friends and support in 2013 when her husband, Nick, passed away from a battle with brain cancer.
"After seeing all those people support us," said Janke, "I made it my mission to support ways to give back."
Mission accomplished for Janke.
The Sunshine Fund was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Power of 100 Women-River Falls last fall with five students and five adult mentors presenting to a crowd of well-over 100 grant voters.
Senior-to-be Elliott Bell is the Sunshine Fund student president this year. The Sunshine Fund not only gives monetary support in the form of cash and gift cards to local restaurants and businesses, but the group also provides manual labor for their neighbors.
"We've chopped wood for people to help them heat their home," Bell said. "There are a ton of different ways we can help people and that's what the Sunshine Fund does."
Bell addressed all of the golf participants last week with a pre-tournament welcome speech and their mission, something she said was a little nerve-racking.
"I've learned a lot about public speaking," Bell said. "I still get a little nervous, but it's a lot less now because it pushed me out of my comfort zone and required me to do things I normally wouldn't do. The adult mentors treat us as equals and we're all there to help everyone and I think that's really cool."
"There is so much growth in the students from their freshmen year to their senior year," said new adult mentor President Tara Albores. "To see the change in that amount of time is pretty remarkable. They do quite a bit of public speaking and they don't necessarily get that in a classroom setting. They're nervous, at first, but as time goes on, they end up volunteering to do it and they are confident."
"The adults are there to mentor us, but the students are doing the heavy-lifting," said Bell, who also stars on the soccer field for the Wildcats, "We're learning Salesforce, which is a program a lot of adults use in their jobs."
The River Falls Sunshine Fund raised over $25,000 during this year's golf outing. There are 11 adult mentors in the club and between 15-20 students each year.
"It's such a good feeling being surrounded by people that also have a drive to help people," said senior-to-be Sunshine Fund board member Allie Larsen, "I know the direct impact we've had on our community because I know we're physically working to make people's lives better that might be struggling."