Colony Middle School National Junior Honor Society students raise funds for families affected by Hurricane Helene

Colony Middle School National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) students raised $1,550 for families affected by Hurricane Helene. Students sold Italian sodas and baked goods at their school during lunch on Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25. Students donated their time and provided their own supplies to fundraise.

“It was an awesome opportunity for our students to do something small for people so far away,” Amber Bright, a sixth and seventh grade science teacher and National Junior Honor Society Advisor at Colony Middle School, said.

Bright lived in North Carolina previously and wanted to raise funds for families affected by the hurricane. Her niece, who lives in Asheville, North Carolina, was able to point her towards Fearless Athletics, a fitness facility in Arden, North Carolina. The gym had created an account to help its athletes and over 150 families that utilized their facility.

The NJHS students were excited to take on the fundraiser, Bright said. They wanted to help make a difference.

“They're really good kids of the National Junior Honor Society,” Bright said. “And they just stepped up to the plate right away.”

Students purchased club soda, ice, a variety of flavored syrups, cups, straws and other supplies. Some students baked cookies and cupcakes or made rice Krispie treats to sell. Italian sodas sold for $5 and baked goods sold for $2.

NJHS students sold their goods during two lunches per day. Bright said the line of students purchasing sodas stretched out of the cafeteria. They almost ran out of everything during the first day of sales.

“We were rushing to find cups and all this kind of stuff,” Bright said. “And then we were rushing after school to buy more things for the Friday lunches.”

Bright was able to send the money the students had raised to an account established with Fearless Athletics. The owner of the facility called Bright’s niece to let her know she had received the funds.

“[The owner] was crying, and she was just so grateful,” Bright said.

Bright is proud of her students wanting to make a difference for a community so far away.

“They were able to step up,” Bright said. “They gave up their lunches… It blew me away.”