The senior class at Rogers High School, like countless senior classes before them, spent four years washing cars and selling baked goods so they could go on a senior trip together. Then one of their own was paralyzed in a car wreck. The decision wasn’t hard. The money, all $2,300 of it, was donated to the boy and his family.

Justin Benner is on the road to recovery, adjusting to life in a wheelchair. The class is happy to help.

“Your senior trip is something you will always remember,” said senior Angela Garcia. “Though we might not be doing something awesome and amazing for our trip, what we did with our money - that we earned ourselves - is better than any trip we could have had.”

“We will remember that much longer than a senior trip to somewhere,” said fellow senior Kirsten Ralston. “We just couldn’t see us doing something like that when somebody is hurting like that. It felt kind of frivolous to plan this trip when there was so great a need somewhere else.”

Many seniors have gone to visit Benner in the hospital and put card or a poster on the “prayer wall” wishing him a swift recovery.

The Rogers High School class of 2008 is the smallest on campus with 50 students - 32 of whom have been together since kindergarten.

Principal Robert Chapell said in his nine years at Rogers High School this is the first “clique-less” class he has ever seen.

“There are 50 people that sit with each other at lunch. It doesn’t matter if you are a nerd or an athlete or both.”

Jamie Hoelscher said Benner is like a brother and seeing him hurt was a big blow.

“We have a really small class, and two of our classmates could have been gone in an instant (in the accident),” Ms. Hoelscher said.

“I know that if I was in that situation they would do that for me,” Kirsten Ralston said.

Rogers superintendent Katie Ryan was particularly impressed with the seniors’ generosity.

“In a time when all we hear is ‘today’s youth just cares about themselves,’ well, no they don’t. They do care about other people. We’re just shocked. It’s not so much the dollar figure. It’s that they wanted every bit of it to go to him.”

The generosity of the class has touched the school and the community. A faculty member with connections to the Cameron Country Club has arranged for the class spend a day golfing, playing tennis, swimming and having a barbecue to replace their senior trip.

Ms. Ryan said the first thing she heard them say after hearing the news was “great, now Justin might be able to make it since it is so close.”