Anthony Bevan, the parent of a Sierra Vista Junior High School seventh-grade student, was the lucky winner of a brand new 2018 Honda Civic LX from AutoNation Chevrolet Valencia on Wednesday night.
This was part of the fourth annual car giveaway fundraiser for the WiSH Education Foundation, a public charity that funds programs and initiatives that go beyond what state funding can provide.
AutoNation donated the car to be raffled to help raise money for the nearly 23,000 seventh through 12th grade students in the William S. Hart Union High School District.
“We want nothing more than to support the community, especially the Valencia community,” AutoNation Marketing Manager Katie Cannon said. “You can see the impact that WiSH has on the community, and it’s an amazing way to give back and let them know that AutoNation does care.”
All the proceeds from the raffle tickets will go toward WiSH’s goal of funding science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) this year, according to WiSH Chairman Richard Cohn.
“We’re trying to energize students to go into some of the underserved programs,” Cohn said. “We want to not only create programs, but also provide the necessary materials. Having microscopes or musical instruments in classes is important, so we want to make sure they get access to supplies they probably wouldn’t otherwise.”
They sold more than 1,000 tickets, according to WiSH Executive Director Amy Daniels, and had a record number of people in attendance.
“The big change this year is that you have to be in attendance to win the car,” Daniels said. “So many people have come in because of that and we have sold a lot more tickets on-site.”
When it came time to pull the winning ticket, the owner of the first ticket wasn’t present, and because of the new rule, another name had to be called.
Bevan and his family were about to leave after they picked the first ticket and it wasn’t his, Anthony’s wife Hilda Bevan said. Fortunately, they decided to wait and were shocked to hear Bevan’s name called next.
“I honestly didn’t expect it to ever happen,” said Anthony’s daughter Kaylie Bevan, 12.
Bevan was actually already in the market for this exact car and was planning to buy one this very weekend.
“It’s a blessing,” Bevan said. “I didn’t expect to win even though I needed the vehicle. I was just happy that I got to contribute, but I got a lot more in return.”
For more information about the WiSH Education Foundation as well as other fundraising opportunities, visit their website at wisheducationfoundation.org/.
