Local school raises money to help end hunger

TROUT CREEK – The Trout Creek Adventist School recently pulled together to help raise money for a relief organization, bringing in an impressive amount of donations over a short period of time.

Although exact numbers were not available, teacher Brian Iseminger said the six students were able to raise funds in the range of $1,200 in a short week and a half.

The money was sent to Adventist Development and Relief Agency, an organization that aims to help developing countries.

According to their website, ADRA’s mission is to work “with people in poverty and distress to create just and positive change through empowering partnerships and responsible actions.”

The agency also helps with relief efforts and is currently helping in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan hit.  

During the month of November, ADRA is matching funds 7 to 1 so the kid’s hard earned cash will multiply from approximately $1,200 to $8,400.

“At this moment, nearly one billion children, women, and men in the world have empty stomachs. That means, one in seven people worldwide spend day and night hungry,” stated the website. “With every dollar donated being multiplied by seven, imagine how dramatically we can increase our ability to meet the needs of people around the world, particularly those facing the life-and-death struggle against hunger.”

Iseminger said the match was one of the reasons the school decided to participate. The opportunity would help further their fundraising efforts.

“This is just one thing we decided to do because they were having a match and we thought we’d see what we could come up with,” said Iseminger.

Although most of the money came from a large donation, the kids worked diligently to create enough sweets to host a bake sale. The bake sale included mint fudge, owl cupcakes, biscotti, pumpkin cheesecake and brownies, among other items.

Iseminger said the bake sale was more of a “phone-a-thon” and all the goods prepared were sold out.

“People didn’t come in. We actually called church members and community members,” explained Iseminger.

He said the idea works well especially in this area because people are not always able to drive long distances to attend something like a bake sale.

In order to prepare the goods, the students had one big bake day in the kitchen of the school.

“They did really well, actually. I paired them off and gave each two recipes and they pretty much did it on their own,” Iseminger said. “Nothing burned and it wasn’t all raw. People really enjoyed it.”

Although the kids have fundraised in the past, the projects never spanned a larger scale like this fundraiser. 

Iseminger said the eighth grade class held a fundraiser for their class trip once they came close to graduation, however, this fundraiser was a new ball game.

“As a charity type thing, this is the first fundraiser we’ve done,” said Iseminger. 

With Thanksgiving taking up the last part of the month, Iseminger said the school was done fundraising and he planned to send the money off by Wednesday, November 27.

“We aren’t going to have time to make another big pitch but it probably won’t be the last time we raise funds for this or some other organization like that,” Iseminger said. “It’s good to have the kids be involved in helping others.”