The Student News Site of Westfield High School

Hi's Eye

The Student News Site of Westfield High School

Hi's Eye

The Student News Site of Westfield High School

Hi's Eye

Fund-raising the bar: One charity at a time

by Michaela Winberg, Kaylee Baez, & Caitlyn Tierney

“The SGA members are selfless,” said Health Teacher and SGA Adviser Ms. Michelle Spreitzer. “Sometimes, I have to convince them to turn away charity opportunities…. They want to help everyone.

”According to SGA President Lizzie Ponce, every year, the New Jersey Association for Student Governments chooses a charity to which statewide student governments can donate; this year, the SGA will be giving back to the HERO Campaign.

The HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers “seeks to end drunk driving tragedies nationwide by promoting the use of safe and sober designated drivers,” according to herocampaign.org.

According to Spreitzer, on Sept. 28, the SGA will be holding a car wash in the WHS parking lot to kick off a year of fundraising for the HERO Campaign.
“In order to raise as much money as we can for this year’s charity, we hope to have great turnouts at all of our events like car washes, sports tournaments, winter formal and lots more,” said Ponce.

Though the HERO Campaign is the SGA’s main focus, SGA members still plan to donate to other organizations as need dictates, according to Spreitzer.
“Last year, [former SGA President Alex Jeffrey] wanted to help with Hurricane Sandy relief funds once the storm hit. Part of our charity work is seeing what happens during the year and giving help where we can,” Spreitzer added.

WHS may be known for its outstanding academics, but ambitious students go above and beyond both inside and outside of school.

The Wish Organization exemplifies how easily the WHS community can come together to help one another and those in need.

According to Co-Founder and Social Studies Teacher Mr. Thomas Hornish, Wish was created two years ago when it became apparent that many students and colleagues facing difficulties needed help.

Wish’s goal is to establish an organization that would ultimately organize fundraising that would assist students, colleagues and their families.Volunteers, students, staff members and the Community Service Club have helped Wish raise over $15,000 to help those in need.

Wish’s goal is to make A Day Without a regular basis fundraiser where students are constantly aware and willing to give back in such an easy way.
According to Community Service Club Adviser and English Teacher Mr. Warren Hynes, this is their most successful fundraiser, and it could raise over $4,000 in just 3 days if every student donated $2 of their usual spending money.

Said Hynes: “We have a lot of students who are focused on the future…but they aren’t so focused that they can’t stop and look around them in the present and give to people who are in need. As long as we do that as people, we’ll be okay.”

It’s easy to see how students fall in love with both the language and culture of France, and the WHS French Club fosters that admiration. But the French Club is more than just fun—it is working hard to build a school for a village in Benin.

Benin is a small country in West Africa that often lacks funding for education. According to cia.gov, less than half the population of Benin is literate. The French Club aims to educate children in Benin by providing them with a furnished school building.

The French Club is raising money for the build in Africa by selling baked goods at Back-to-School Night and throughout the year, according to French Teacher Ms. Rachel Janus.

In addition to help fund the school in Africa, “the French Club runs fundraisers for charities such as Doctors Without Borders and Charity Water,” said Club Adviser Ms. Marie-Laure Hoffmann. The French Club will be working the concessions stand at Kehler during football games to raise money for its annual French exchange program, as well as funding scholarships for three seniors to study French in college, according to Hoffmann.

​“This year, the French Club really wants to develop itself and have more fundraisers and activities,” said junior Personal Relations Officer Rita Murphy.To become involved with the French Club, sign up on Club Day (Oct. 4 in the courtyard during all lunch periods) and pay the $5 membership fee.

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