St. Joseph Church fundraises for roof repairs

EL PASO (KVIA) - St. Joseph Church is hosting their Raise the Roof Car Show Saturday to fund the repair of its school estimated to cost $100,000 according to one of the organizers.

The event was free to attend lasting from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The custom cars were on display with about 50 showing up according to one organizer and member of the Knights of Columbus as well as the St. Joseph School's council Al Lujan.

Lujan said it was a bigger response than he expected with his estimate only being around 20 vehicles showing up, adding this was an example of the community coming together for a common cause.

In additon, Lujan said every dollar from the fundraiser would be going toward the repairs, saying providing for the children is an important responsibility of the 'family' that is the El Paso Catholic community.

"Anything that we do, especially here in El Paso, we're a family," Lujan said. "Especially being Catholics, we have children that come to this school and we want to be able to provide for them."

The church mainly raised money through a ticket currency system in which attendees bought tickets with their cash or card then used the tickets to buy the food and drinks being sold.

The DJ played for most of the show until the end of the event when the St. Joseph School's own Mariachi group made up of its own students became the focus as they played several songs with the audience applauding the students after every song.

Lujan said the overall response to the event from the community highlighted a willingness to help in the El Paso community which helped in this case as the church is now asking for the community's assistance.

"This is a very welcoming community, we're always here to support somebody," Lujan said. "We find somebody in need, we want to help them out and that's what we want to do is just bring people together, saying we need your help. Help us out because who knows when you're going to need help? So we're just coming together as a family."

Something Lujan said to ABC-7 was a 'duty' to the children going to the church's school as the main reason to address the roof and also said being able to help when possible whether it's through time or money is a way of setting a good example for the next generation.

A reason why Lujan said giving back is important to him.

"Being able to be in a position to be able to help somebody, not even financially, but being able to give my time and being able to provide back to the community is very important," Lujan said. "There's some individuals that look up to older individuals for support and guidance. So I could be a great role model for people, I'll do that and help wherever I can."