The epitome of community spirit

Eastlake community rallies together for graduate diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma

The line outside of Mod Pizza stretched out the door and down the sidewalk for one of the biggest events of the summer for the Eastlake High School community on Aug. 4.

A large collection of individuals were in attendance for a fundraiser for Eastlake 2013 graduate Riley Brown, who was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in early 2015.

Brown, who played soccer for the Wolves girls soccer program during her high school days and is currently attending the University of Arizona, visited Mod Pizza with family members and friends for the occasion. Mod Pizza donated 20 percent of all sales of the entire day to the Eastlake Booster Club, which in turn donated those funds to the Brown family. The Brown family received $900 from the event. The sight of Mod Pizza packed to the brim during the dinner rush brought a wide smile to Eastlake Wolves girls soccer head coach Marc Wilson’s face.

“You always hope that you’ll get this type of response. Once again this community has exceeded expectations. I think it just shows the level of a family atmosphere this community has. They treat each as their own and want to make sure that everyone is taken care of,” Wilson said. “It is pretty awesome to watch. It is incredible.”

Wilson credited Rod Smith, Lindsay Elston, Allie Jackstadt, Jordyn Wilson, Zachary Hammond, Kara Popp, Alli Kleppe, Dirk Huebner and Don Bartel for spreading the word in the weeks leading up to the event.

“Mod (Pizza) was a huge supporter of this. They jumped on board with this when we brought it to them. This doesn’t work without the support of the whole community. It was great and speaks volumes about how people in this community feel about each other,” he said.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@issaquahreporter.com