By Carl Ewing
Staff Writer
It’s the Wednesday after Halloween and the kids of UNICEF club are talking about the haul.
These kids aren’t talking about candy. They are talking about the money they each collected for UNICEF. The club raises money which is sent to the organization’s headquarters to help kids in underdeveloped and poverty stricken countries. With these funds, they are able to buy food, water, and vaccines.
The UNICEF club was started 9 years ago by two students and club sponsor, Tony Wass. UNICEF club does a variety of unique fundraisers to raise money. One of their fundraisers include selling tattoos at home football games. So far the club has raised over $120 at each game. Their most known fundraiser, trick-or-treat for UNICEF, raised over $940 this year. The club hopes to co-host a film festival with other human rights groups at the school to raise awareness and money for their charities on December 11.
“Imagine being outside in the sweltering heat, walking miles just to get to school; deprived of just one clean drop of water to satisfy your thirst, and not knowing whether or not you’ll survive until the next day. That’s why I joined UNICEF. Children shouldn’t die from preventable causes,” said junior Katie McNulty.
When asked, each member of UNICEF will tell their own reason for joining the club. Senior Nate Zwieg said,”I joined to get more involved
and just to help the kids in Africa because we are so privileged. It’s also good to branch out and make a difference in someone else’s life.”
Most members of UNICEF feel extremely privileged to live in such an affluent area. Something so many other students at BHS take for granted. “My sister was the President when I was a freshman. I wanted to join a club and I thought it was a really great cause,” said senior Julia Burke. The UNICEF club is open to everyone, and has goals to help all those in need.
“We’re hoping to make UNICEF stronger and stronger each year and raise enough money to make more then a dent in the fight to enhance children’s lives in the third world,” said McNulty. The club hopes to raise awareness of underprivileged children and help make their lives better.
Most importantly, the club wants members to realize that they are making a difference and impact on so many more lives then one could ever expect.
