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Wydown Community Raises Nearly $6,000 During Give Back Week
The Wydown Middle School community joined together to raise nearly $6,000 for Friends of Kids with Cancer during the school’s fifth annual Give Back Week held on April 25-28. The week culminated with Give Back Night on April 28, a fun evening hosted by WMS students and staff for the entire Clayton community.
Give Back Week began during the 2011-2012 school year as a way to combine the individual philanthropic efforts of different advisory classes at WMS in order to make a bigger impact on those in need. Including this year’s total donations of $5,900, the WMS community has raised more than $33,400 for those in need during the past five years.
Preparation for this year’s Give Back Week began in December when 35 eighth-grade students wrote letters to the Give Back Committee, encouraging them to choose a specific charity as the beneficiary of this year’s Give Back Week fundraising. The top three letters were chosen, and those students made a presentation to the entire school about their selected charities. Following a vote, Friends of Kids with Cancer was named this year’s designated charity.
Beginning in early 2016, WMS seventh- and eighth-graders, along with their teachers and other WMS staff, worked to plan the fundraisers and other activities for Give Back Week, and they advertised Give Back Night throughout the community. Once Give Back Week had arrived, students and staff participated in a variety of activities such as Hat Day, purchasing Candy Grams and donating packs of gum for children with cancer.
At Give Back Night, WMS students, staff and parents worked together to run a successful event. For $5, students, their families and other community members enjoyed everything from dancing and ping pong to face painting and cookie decorating. Attendees even had the opportunity to throw a pie in their favorite teacher’s face or duct tape their teacher to the wall – all in the name of helping children in need.
Give Back Week began during the 2011-2012 school year as a way to combine the individual philanthropic efforts of different advisory classes at WMS in order to make a bigger impact on those in need. Including this year’s total donations of $5,900, the WMS community has raised more than $33,400 for those in need during the past five years.
Preparation for this year’s Give Back Week began in December when 35 eighth-grade students wrote letters to the Give Back Committee, encouraging them to choose a specific charity as the beneficiary of this year’s Give Back Week fundraising. The top three letters were chosen, and those students made a presentation to the entire school about their selected charities. Following a vote, Friends of Kids with Cancer was named this year’s designated charity.
Beginning in early 2016, WMS seventh- and eighth-graders, along with their teachers and other WMS staff, worked to plan the fundraisers and other activities for Give Back Week, and they advertised Give Back Night throughout the community. Once Give Back Week had arrived, students and staff participated in a variety of activities such as Hat Day, purchasing Candy Grams and donating packs of gum for children with cancer.
At Give Back Night, WMS students, staff and parents worked together to run a successful event. For $5, students, their families and other community members enjoyed everything from dancing and ping pong to face painting and cookie decorating. Attendees even had the opportunity to throw a pie in their favorite teacher’s face or duct tape their teacher to the wall – all in the name of helping children in need.
In addition to raising money for an important cause, Give Back Week serves as a valuable community-building opportunity at WMS. Through the school’s advisory program, students are placed into smaller grade-level groups where they participate in activities that help them get to know their peers and staff mentor on a personal level, not just in the typical classmate-to-classmate or student-to-teacher relationship. When students see their teachers dressed in wacky hats for Hat Day, or when a team of students can play dodgeball against their teachers at Give Back Night, they are forming positive relationships with their teachers. Those relationships support students’ sense of belonging and well-being at school, which positively impacts their academic experience as well.