Last Friday, Midnight Rave, Central’s break dancing club, hosted a benefit in honor of Andrew Park, a Central student who passed away from leukemia last summer.

“Our main goal was to gather students, even from outside of Hinsdale, and to remember the mark Andrew Park has left on all of us. That’s why the event was called “Leave Your Mark.” Also, we believed that Andrew, the Park family, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society deserve help and we are honored to donate the funds raised to them,” said Benjy Kim, senior, and member of Midnight Rave.

This fundraiser is a combined effort not only of Midnight Rave but also of Meatheads, the PTO and Habitat for Humanity. The fundraiser included t-shirts and snacks, along with an after party at Meatheads.

“ Midnight Rave, known as HCHS Breakers now, planned the competition, hired judges and DJs, and designed shirts to be on sale,” Kim said. “Meatheads helped by donating 10 percent of purchases by Hinsdale students to the charity and to the Park family,” Kim said.

This was nothing new for Midnight Rave, who has done similar competitions and fundraisers in the past.

“The benefit was run just like any of our past competitions. It was a break dance competition with competitors from all over Illinois coming in to battle. This year, over 28 break-dancers are signed up and eager to battle,” said Kim. “Also, in 2011, we planned and hosted B-boys Planting Peace. We cooperated with Citizens Club and created a fundraiser/competition for Planting Peace.”

This fundraiser was different than past fundraisers because of the personal connection many of the break-dancers had.

“The difference between this and any normal competition was the fact that a lot of the competitors knew Andrew really well. So in a way, they did this for him,” said Sushane Kumar, junior.

Overall, Kim believes the benefit was similar to other benefits for Park.

“All fundraisers for the Park family have common goals; to always remember our friend, Andrew Park, and to help the amazing Park family,” Kim said.