Rio Linda High School students pose for a photo in their letterman jackets. Photo courtesy of RLHS student Analycia Harrison

RIO LINDA, CA (MPG) - Students in Rio Linda High School’s leadership program are raising funds for letterman jackets, seeking to raise a total of $10,000 by Nov. 15 to help leadership students in the program showcase their school pride. 

Varsity Made, a letterman jacket company out of San Diego, has partnered with Rio Linda High’s athletic department in the past for the program’s varsity letterman jackets and other campus programs have taken an interest. Student leadership teacher Kimberly Felix said that she reached out to a representative from Varsity Made who came to the school and helped the leadership students set up a fundraiser using an application on their phones.

Felix said 15% of the total funds raised gets donated back to the school’s leadership program and that Varsity Made donated a letterman jacket to the leadership program. The fundraiser started towards the beginning of October and Felix said varsity jackets can cost nearly $400 for a simple design or hundreds more depending on customization of patches and other features. 

“Making sure students understand you don’t have to be an athlete to show your school pride and show off what achievements and accomplishments you have,” Felix said. “So, that’s when I reached out to the (Varsity Made) rep and asked about getting something set up for our leadership students because most of my leadership students are heavily in our campus.”

According to the fundraiser’s website as of press time, more than $5,000 had been raised through more than 100 individuals with the highest donation amount reported at $200. 

Jahmeir Buttler, a 17-year-old junior at Rio Linda High School, has reportedly raised more than $1,000 and was the highest earner for the fundraiser as of press time. Buttler said he sent the fundraiser’s link to his friends and family, looking to get a letterman jacket to showcase his involvement in leadership and clubs. He said the jacket would be a way to display how much fun he’s had in leadership, pushing himself out of his comfort zone. 

“All the rallies and other stuff we do shows that we’re really committed and we help the school give life to the school because without it, it would be really boring,” Buttler said. 

Excited for his senior year, Buttler said that it has been a fun ride at Rio Linda High and that he is thankful for the skill that he’s learned in leadership.

Eighteen-year-old senior and leadership vice president for the Class of ‘26, Brandon Monroy, has reportedly raised more than $800. He said he was able to raise the funds by asking friends, family and coworkers. A letterman jacket would allow Monroy to represent his community and school pride wherever he goes, Monroy said. 

“In this class, it’s all about communication,” Monroy said. “Because before that, I wasn’t really good at communicating – now I’m good at communicating.”

Joe Hess, a representative with Varsity Made in the Bay Area, said that each athlete keeps 100% of the funds raised and people who want to donate can feel comfortable, knowing that the money goes directly to students.

Showing off the back of their letterman jackets, Rio Linda High School students sport their jackets at school events. Photo courtesy of RLHS student Analycia Harrison

“We created an app that basically allows students to create a little locker with their merchandise and share it with their contacts,” Hess said, “making it super easy to purchase and it ships directly to the person buying it. It takes all the hassle away from the coach.”

For fall sports within the past two months, Hess said that Varsity Made has already helped roughly 400 students receive letterman jackets through various school programs.

“You don’t know who’s up there thinking about you or wants to be charitable,” Hess said.

According to a post from the Rio Linda High School Facebook page, students who are not in leadership can contact Felix to see about raising funds for a letterman jacket. 

To donate or view the fundraiser’s website, visit https://varsitymade.co/pages/rio-linda-high-school-leadership.

Rio Linda High School is located at 6309 Dry Creek Road in Rio Linda and is part of the Twin Rivers Unified High School District. The school’s website is http://rlhs.twinriversusd.org/.