(WLFI) Today was a very special day to band members at Lewis Cass High School.

WLFI reported earlier that the Cass County Community Foundation did a dollar- for- dollar match on donations to the Lewis Cass band for up to $20,000 to fund the band’s trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

This evening, the foundation not only matched the $20,000, but they presented them tonight with a check for $50,000.

With this contribution, the band has raised more than half of their total trip cost of $150,000.

Don Krug, the band director at Lewis Cass Jr./Sr. High School, expressed how important the community is to helping the band go to New York.

“There has never been a day where we questioned how important we were,” said Krug. “We have community support, we have the faculty here at Lewis Cass, the corporation, the superintendent, Trudie Hedrick, school board members are all helping us out.”

The Lewis Cass High School marching band will be one of 8 bands marching in the parade.