During the past couple of months, several District 97 schools have organized activities to raise money for victims of national disasters. Below are a few examples of the efforts undertaken by our students, staff members and families to help those in need.
- Whittier teachers Susan Madsen and Georgina Swanson organized a fundraiser to support hurricane relief efforts. The school community raised $2,087.08 (including coins weighing a total of 130 pounds), which was divided between the charities AmeriCares and All Hands Volunteers.
- As part of their celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Spanish classes from Julian Middle School collected donations totaling $553.07 to benefit UNICEF’s hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. These efforts were led by Spanish teachers Estefanía Alberttis, Christina Bultas, Monique Hoskins and Cara Sherrard-Blesch and teacher librarian Jamie Winchell.
- Through its sponsorship of Trick or Treat for UNICEF, the Longfellow Student Council raised $1,055.13 to support children who were impacted by the earthquakes in Mexico and the hurricanes that hit the Caribbean and United States.
- Irving raised $1,300 in conjunction with the school-wide Penny Challenge it organized on behalf of Galloway School in Friendswood, Texas, which was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.
- Mann fifth grade students also organized a school-wide Penny Challenge, which raised $1,939.17 for the efforts undertaken by the American Red Cross to provide aid to hurricane victims.
- Holmes focused its efforts on not only helping hurricane victims, but also finding opportunities to form connections between its students and students from schools in affected areas. The school community donated $100 worth of batteries, deodorant and soap to victims in Puerto Rico in conjunction with a drive coordinated by the girls volleyball team from OPRF High School. It also sent a $600 Amazon gift card to an elementary school in Rockport, Texas, that lost its entire primary library, six solar chargers to the town of San German, Puerto Rico, and a $150 Amazon gift card to the elementary school affiliated with the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico in San German.
View photos of the fundraising activities organized by our schools >