By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
For years, Dan Dan the Magic Man has pleased young crowds with his act during Summer Reading Programs in Great Bend and throughout the state. Now, Dan Heath and his family could use some help. Dan, his wife, Kim, and their son, Quinton, were recently injured when their vehicle was rear-ended in Denver. The Striped Mafia, a group of Great Bend High School students best known for amping up crowds at Panther sporting events, started a GoFundMe page for the family.
"They're very well-known," said GBHS senior Nash Lindberg. "Everybody loves them. They just love to support kids, so a teacher reached out to us to start a GoFundMe for them, so that's what we did as the Striped Mafia. When somebody needs help, we love to help. We want to give back to those who have given to us. The Heaths have both given the high school a lot through the years and have changed a lot of kids' lives."
Kim and Quintonhave both been released from the hospital. Kim is the current GBHS speech, forensics, and debate teacher, and she was named Kansas Speech Communication Association Secondary Educator of the Year last year. Dan recently retired after a long career that included working with the school's multimedia students last year. As of Tuesday evening, the GoFundMe for the family had surpassed $11,000.
"I was thinking, hopefully, we could get $1,000 or something," Lindberg said. "I just looked, and we're (past) $11,000, which I think is really cool. It's not really a credit to us. I think it's a credit to the Heaths and what they have done throughout the high school. I think it's also a credit to everybody in our community and at the high school."
The Striped Mafia is a relatively new group at GBHS. Lindberg said the group is pleased to help out in any way.
"We just want to help everybody around us succeed and bring school support," he said. "That's what we try to do is bring the best out of Great Bend High School."
CLICK HERE to donate to the Heaths via the GoFundMe page.