On Saturday, Jan. 18, an event benefiting Grand Junction High School junior Sofia Grasso, who is on the varsity volleyball team, was held throughout the GJHS gyms. 

According to a GoFundMe posted by the Grasso family, on Sept. 11, 2022, Grasso suffered a spontaneous brain bleed because of an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM). This has resulted in Grasso being transported through many children’s hospitals on the Front Range and undergoing multiple surgeries. Which one might expect will rack up a large hospital bill. 

GJHS junior Macy McComb and senior Annie Feather decided to use their positions in student council to start a fundraising event. 

“It became an idea after we began talking about how we could assist Sofia, and we decided it would be best if we did a fundraiser for her,” said McComb.

“It’s definitely been interesting planning a tournament when neither of us have really played volleyball,” said Feather. 

Around $2,800 were made off the event alone, through T-shirt sales, team sign-up fees, donations, and concessions. The rest was made purely off of sponsorships. 

Twenty teams composed of community members, students at GJHS, and friends and family of Grasso showed up to play in support of Grasso.

Of 20 teams, one came on top – the “Squirrely D’s,” consisting of players Matt Eilera, Drew North, Michel Miller, and Bryan Miller. 

“It went super smoothly. We didn’t have any hiccups, and it was fun,” said Feather.

If you are interested in donating to help the Grasso family the GoFundMe is linked below. On the GoFundMe you can also find regular updates on Sofia’s condition.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/jqyg4-sofiastrong