Ellington

The Signal Mountain High School cheerleaders are holding the inaugural Summer on Signal event in the Pruett’s parking lot Saturday, Aug. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Cheerleaders will be washing cars for a $5 charge, though additional donations are always welcome, said coach Laura Willingham. A stylist from Signal Mountain salon Split Ends is volunteering her time to provide haircuts, with all proceeds going to the cheerleaders.

The squad has been invited to perform at halftime at a college Bowl Championship Series game in Miami, and the event is a fundraiser to help the girls pay for traveling expenses, hotel rooms and costumes, said Willingham.

“I feel like the cheerleaders come out to support most of the community and the school, and I would just love it if people would turn around and show how much they appreciate us,” she said. “We would love the support.”

The cheerleaders hope to raise the approximately $25,000 they need through fundraisers such as Summer on Signal as well as the squad’s community calendar, which will be sold at SMHS football games in August.

“It was something we always wanted to try, but we knew it would take a lot of work and preparation,” said Willingham of the calendar.

Taken by Greg and Jeannie Forehand of Contemporary Portraits, photos for each month on the calendar feature the Signal Mountain business owner sponsoring that month, as well as members of the squad along with mascot Eddie Eagle.

“We didn’t want it to just be a cheerleading calendar,” said Willingham. “We wanted it to really represent the whole town of Signal Mountain.”