Grant Elementary teachers, staff lip sync battle to raise funds for leukemia

EPHRATA — The Disney animated movie “Frozen” became a cultural phenomenon when it was released in 2013.

The film earned over a billion dollars at the box office and the songs were burned into the brain of any adult whose children were fans.

Grant Elementary teachers Brandon Evenson and Jeremy Vasquez’s rendition of “Love Is an Open Door,” a song from the movie, might not have created the same cultural footprint as the original, but it did help earn money for a good cause.

Evenson and Vasquez released a four-minute, three-song “lip sync battle” video to cap a fundraiser for Pennies for Patients, a program for students from kindergarten through high school who are fighting cancer. Grant Elementary raised about $3,100, a great success, Vasquez said.

“We try to look for some sort of incentive for our students to try and get them to buy in and so that was this year’s,” he said. “We thought a lip sync battle would be pretty fun and the kids went for it — we raised as much as we’ve ever had.”

Last year for the cause, Evenson dyed his hair blond and Vasquez shaved his head. The pair, with help from Vasquez’s wife, Sarah, upped the production value this year with three duets.

“We had kind of talked about what would be fun, what would the kids relate to, and we interact with the kids every single day so we kind of hear the songs they sing in the hallways or out on the playground,” Vasquez said.

The video opens with a snowy backdrop, Vasquez on the left in blond pigtails and a makeshift purple cape, Evenson on the right in a dashing blazer. The pair thought the “Frozen” cover turned out the best, but minor technical difficulties kept the music from being perfectly in sync with their mouths.

The next song was “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. Both Vasquez and Evenson wore all-white outfits like the iconic music video and used a filter to add bleach-blond hair to their heads.

“Being an elementary teacher we wanted to do at least one song they’d really know,” Evenson said of the “Frozen” choice. “Jeremy came up with that one and then the Backstreet Boys is kind of like last year when I dyed my hair. All the kids either called me Trump or they told me I should be in a boy band.”

“Students are loving it,” Vasquez added. “In fact, parents keep seeing their kids singing the songs in the shower that night, as they’re laying in bed they hear them singing the Backstreet Boys song. Some were laughing so hard they were crying. Some were in shock when they realized it was me in a wig or Mr. Evenson in a wig.”

The show-stopping finale was the song “Shallow” from the movie “A Star is Born.”

Vasquez nabbed the Bradley Cooper role, Jackson Maine, and channeled his inner country music star by strumming his guitar in front of a barn with a cowboy hat on. Evenson dressed up for Lady Gaga’s part, Ally, in a flowing blond wig and dress.

Originally, Evenson had filmed his part for “Shallow” inside, but after seeing Vasquez outdoors he enlisted the help of his daughter, Molly, and filmed the romantic lyrics as the sun set behind him.

“I’m giggling through the whole thing because she’s laughing and I’m trying not to laugh so we hammed it up pretty good,” Evenson said.

Evenson and Vasquez await the response from principal Shannon Dahl and school counselor Courtney Burck. Vasquez said their video should premiere soon.

“I never underestimate our principal and counselor,” he said.

“They’re gonna have to do a pretty good job, I think,” Evenson added. “I’m not being cocky or anything.”

Vasquez and Evenson teased a second video declaring victory, but more than the chance to be the best lip-syncers at the school, they were happy to raise money for those in need.

“It was fun. We had a blast doing it,” Evenson said. “I think we laughed hours upon hours while we were sending each other the videos and trying to splice them together and we were just chuckling. It was a good time and, like I said, it was for a good cause.”