Photo courtesy of Kids For kanya club
Endeavour Intermediate School Principal Kevin Alfano showed the little students what it means to both be a good sport and keep a promise when he wore a chicken suit to school all day March 12. Weeks earlier he had vowed to don the costume if students helped the Kids for Kenya Club meet a fundraising goal of $500 through a coin drive. They not only met that goal, they more than doubled it by raising $1, 069.47 in two weeks, all in loose change.
Alfano said it was hot inside the fuzzy costume as he stood outside at recess that sunny day, but he was clearly enjoying himself as he posed for photos with students who paid $1 each to have their picture taken with their good-natured principal. Alfano raised an additional $130.
Endeavour’s Kids for Kenya Club is headed up by teacher Wendy Merdian, who spent considerable time in Kenya during her college years and was taken by the beauty of the land and the people who live there. Through the club, she and its 12 members work to raise awareness about life in Kenya and other developing countries while at the same time learning to become leaders in their school and community.
The club’s ultimate goal is to raise $15,000 for Shammah Academy in Machakos, Kenya, a small, private school the club has adopted. According to club member Cooper Brown the school suffers from overcrowding, so Kids for Kenya want to help fund the construction of four new classrooms.
“By expanding the school they can have more grades so the kids don’t have to go to an overcrowded government school,” said the fifth-grader. “It’s hard to learn in a super-overcrowded environment.”
To continue their fundraising efforts, the club is planning a rummage and bake sale to be held at the Endeavour gymnasium on April 25. Club members are getting the word out early so that the community will have ample time to donate clean, good quality items like housewares, toys, and clothes. Items can dropped off at Endeavour at any time during regular school hours.
The accompanying bake sale will feature all kinds of homemade sweets prepared by club parents and Fife School staff. Club member Tyler Petty indicated this would be a highlight of the sale day. “My mom is really good at baking goodies,” he said.
The sale runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers are needed before, during and immediately after the sale. Those interested should call Merdian at (253) 380-5381.
Contact Matt Nagle at
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