Spurred on by a smile
High school students raise money for Habitat in honor of late friend
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

LIFE CUT SHORT- Tyler Broberg displays a bright smile while he shares the pool with his 14-year-old sister Cori. After Tyler's fatal accident this summer, his friends teamed up to form 1Life2Live, a project that has pledged to raise $50,000 to help build a home for a low-income Simi family.

Tyler Broberg made a lasting impression on those who knew him- one that blended kindness and an ability to make everyone around him smile.

His classmates at Royal High School remember the 16yearold honor student telling funny jokes and sharing stories between classes.

Tyler died during a family reunion Aug. 1, when he accidentally drowned after being knocked unconscious on a water slide.

Now, to preserve his legacy, Tyler's friends have partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County to raise $50,000 to help a Simi family build a home.

"We wanted to keep it local," said 16-year-old Emilie Mateu, a longtime friend. "Tyler was always making people happy, and we wanted to do something he'd be proud of."

To help make something positive out of their loss, Mateu and more than 20 other friends of Tyler teamed up to form 1Life2Live, a project that has pledged to raise the full $50,000 by the one-year anniversary of Tyler's death.

In a letter that Mateu wrote describing her idea to begin the program, she said she knew her friend would have wanted to make the world a better place.

"I think Tyler would be so happy to know that this program, in honor of everything he represented in life, could help children find a healthy home and environment for themselves and their families to thrive in," Mateu wrote. "It would help so many children accomplish the dreams that Tyler never quite got to live out."

Tyler had dreams of going to Brigham Young University and pursuing a career in dentistry. In school, he sang in the choir and was part of the water polo and football teams.

"With these funds that would be generated at the very place where Tyler invested the most heart and time, where he experienced love, success and his friends every single day, Simi Valley should be the place where Tyler's dreams start to become real," Mateu wrote.

The home being sponsored by 1Life2Live is one of three Habitat for Humanity homes on the corner of Royal and Sequoia avenues.

After officially beginning their fundraising in early October, the group has already raised $6,500.

"Habitat for Humanity happened to be breaking ground around the time we started thinking of this," Mateu said. "We figured it was a great opportunity to help something local- in the town that Tyler grew up in."

The group also plans to participate in the actual construction of the homes, which will begin next year and is scheduled for completion by December 2008.

"Fifty years from now we're going to be able to drive by that house and say that we helped make it possible to give someone a home," Mateu said.

Pam Moberly, a friend of the Broberg family, said she thinks the program, which is run primarily by the teenagers, is exceptional and aims to "take good will and spread it through the community."

She said it shows how much of a positive impact Tyler had on the people around him and how he was loved by friends as well as family.

The group, whose motto is "Remember Tyler's Smile," has set up a website where people can give donations or purchase wristbands, T-shirts, sweatshirts and decals with the "1L2L" logo to help support the cause. All proceeds from "1L2L Gear" go toward Habitat for Humanity.

For more information about Tyler Broberg or 1Life2Live, visit 1L2L. org.