MHS Hurricane Relief Efforts
Messalonskee junior Gabrielle WoodMcGuckin brought in mini apple pies to school recently, but they weren’t for her homeroom or a specific class. No, the people in mind on this occasion don’t even live in Maine; they live in the towns and cities ravaged by Harvey and Irma, the two powerful hurricanes that brought death and destruction to Texas and Florida.
Gabrielle teamed up with fellow students Ava Ardito, Nickolas Alexander, Jade Veilleux, Lauren Fortin, Hannah DelGiudice, and Julia Cooke to hold a bake sale that raised $103 for hurricane victim relief.
“I personally think it is important to help people not only in our community, but outside our community,” Gabrielle said, “and I thought if I did this, then other people might be motivated to jump in and help.”
The seven students don’t plan to stop their fundraising effort with the bake sale. They have brainstormed about other initiatives to raise money, including such ideas as a coin drive, a Haunted Trail for Halloween, a pancake breakfast, and a movie night in the Performing Arts Center geared toward younger children in the school district.
Gabrielle said she and fellow students would love to organize a competition among the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes to raise the most money for hurricane victim relief, whatever the particular event might be.
And who knows, a second baked sale could ultimately be part of the plan. Gabrielle said the first one turned out to be quite successful despite virtually no publicity; Gabrielle’s mini apple pies, for example, sold like hot cakes. “I made 12 of them,” she said, “and they all went during first lunch.”