A Franklin Lakes teen has raised money for the victims of a massive fire, including his classmate.
Caren Lissner, Patch Staff
|Updated Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 1:55 pm ET
FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — A teen from Franklin Lakes has helped raise $3,200 for victims of the California wildfires — including a teammate who lost his home.
Franklin Lakes native Cooper Snee, 18, attends Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and plays on the varsity hockey team. His teammate Sam Houston recently lost his home to the California wildfires.
Snee, along with teammates Josh Travaglino, 18, of Scarsdale, N.Y., and Indiana Grossbard, 17, of Wilton, CT, wanted to do something to help.
Teammate Houston, 18, hails from Pacific Palisades, Calif., where the worst of the fires hit. Nothing was left of Houston’s home after the fires burned through his neighborhood in January.
“It’s actually a pretty small town, and I love it so much," Houston said recently. "All the schools, the churches, they burned down, too. We’re going to try to rebuild because we don’t want to leave that place, but it’s going to take a long time.”
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Snee said, “Obviously, what he and his community have gone through is unimaginable. We just wanted to do what we could to help."
Snee, Travaglino, and Grossbard brought their idea of organizing a raffle fundraiser to Head of School Jim Detora, as well as Director of Athletics and Assistant Varsity Hockey Coach Geoff Barlow. Both approved.
“I didn’t ask for any of this,” said Houston recently. “The first I heard about it, the guys had already gotten approval from the school administration. They’ve really just overwhelmed me with support during a tough time.”
Prizes to be raffled off included authenticated signed items from sports legends across hockey, football, and basketball including a signed Shaquille O’Neal basketball and signed Mike Eruzione jersey. Tickets were sold for $5 each.
The raffle was held in mid-February and brought in several thousand dollars.
Proceeds from the raffle will go directly to families affected by the fires. Houston says his town has created a spreadsheet compiling what each affected family needs.
“My mom and I were both here in Avon, and my dad was visiting my sister in Colorado, so none of us were there," he said, "but we were getting updates from our neighbors."
“The news of the wildfires hit close to home and they wanted to help somehow,” said Coach Barlow. “They all came together."