Photo courtesy of Jon Lunceford.
Mae Jemison High School in Huntsville was the first school to receive a donation from the Under the Lights Foundation. The donation it received will go toward funding the wrestling program for the upcoming season.
Team sports provide a lot of benefits for student athletes. However, not all aspiring athletes have access to the facilities they need or the money to pay fees and buy equipment.
Jon Lunceford believes that money should not be the deciding factor for whether a student is able to participate in sports or any other extracurricular activity.
In his time at Homewood High School, Lunceford was a starting offensive lineman for the football team and sang in the show choir. Understanding the significance of opportunities like these, he decided to do something to ensure that every student is able to have their moment in the spotlight.
In starting the Under the Lights Foundation, he’s doing just that.
“Essentially, we try to help fund programs so that costs aren’t passed down to kids,” Lunceford said. “Because a lot of times, it’s hard for kids to compete on a sports team or in marching band or whatever if they have to pay fees for uniforms or to travel.”
When Ramsay High School won the high school football state championship in 2016, the school was using Lawson State Community College’s field to practice since it didn’t have a field of its own. A church friend of Lunceford’s, a Ramsay graduate, reached out to the school to see about having a field built, and Lunceford assisted with the fundraising project.
Since the foundation’s creation in 2016, it has acquired a nonprofit certification and has begun fundraising. Ever eager to make a difference, the foundation’s first beneficiary was Mae Jemison High School in Huntsville. Its wrestling program was on the verge of being shut down due to lack of funding.
After seeing a documentary about the team and its struggles at the Sidewalk Film Festival, Lunceford and Under the Lights donated enough money to the program to finance it for a year.
“They just immediately jumped up, started thanking us right off the bat. It was cool to kind of see the look on their faces when they realized they’re actually going to be able to have a wrestling season,” Lunceford said. “I know what it felt like when I was their age and playing high school sports. Finally seeing first hand how it does affect them, it affects me too, realizing that it’s not as easy for other people as it was for me growing up.”
Eventually, the foundation wants to be able to expand its assistance beyond sports and into extracurriculars in the fine arts, like show choir, theater, marching band and even dance team.
According to Lunceford, students in show choir can end up spending over $2,000 on costumes, travel, materials for sets and other fees, and many activities can similarly add up. When a school’s own fundraising efforts aren’t enough, Under the Lights can help provide the extra funds so that all students have a chance to shine.
“Our saying is that we want to give every kid the chance to find the spotlight.” Lunceford said. “Whether that’s the bright lights on Friday nights or the spotlight on the stage.”
