SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The Ute band reaches it's goal thanks to generous Utahns and a big last minute donation. Now it has the money to head to Washington D.C. for the presidential inauguration.
All along the price tag for this trip has been $150,000. However, some extra expenses came up in the amount of $4,000 and this morning, the U of U thought it was going to have to ask for more help, but a big surprise came out of the blue.
“We are thrilled, you know this is a huge number to get to and we are there and it happened so fast and we're going. We are so excited!” exclaims Sarah Haftmann, Ute band member.
Just over a week ago, the Ute Marching Band thought it would have to turn down the opportunity of a life time, but thanks to an incredibly generous state, Utah's band is marching to Washington.
“All the donations, I mean over a thousand donations now just individual families and everything is like, holy cow, this is cool to see the community come out and help us,” says Ute band member, C.J. Leon Cini.
Donations both large and small poured in from the community - the biggest coming from Amphastar Pharmaceuticals for $30,000.
Applebee’s donated 10 percent of an entire day of sales and Cold Stone raised $1,656 in an event Tuesday night.
“I have been in marching band for a very, very long time and I have never seen a community or University or any entity support an organization like we have been supported and we definitely will not let everyone down,” states Brian Sproul, Ute Band Director.
But as of Wednesday morning, the band was still a little short - that is until USANA Health Sciences stepped in.
“Our founder is an alumni at the University of Utah and heard that we were just about $10,000 maybe a little bit more away from sending the band to the inauguration and he called us and said we have a duty to do what's right to take care of the college, so we made a donation to cover them, whatever short fall is, we'll make sure they are covered,” explains Dan Macuga, USANA Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations.
The company is donating the remaining costs of the trip, between $10,000 and $15,000 plus a backpack for each member of the band.
“We just want to say a huge thank you,” adds Haftmann.
Another huge announcement was made at Wednesday’s press conference regarding philanthropist Sally Burbidge. She was a long time supporter of the Ute Band before she recently passed away. Her family is so impressed by the community, that it is matching the $150,000 in band donations for student scholarships.
Some of the top donors in this cause include: Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, USANA Health Sciences, Applebee’s, Omniture, Kem Gardner, Bruce Bastian, Howard S. Spurrier, DDS, Cold Stone Creamery and Sherm Smith for housing arrangements in the Washington D.C. area.
