Wasilla High senior spearheads special projects to help her fellow students

WASILLA — Wasilla High School senior, Madeline Emmi has two lasting legacies she’s leaving behind after graduation, Project Sandwich and the Prom Dress Drive. She said both of these operations have become self-sustaining and will be used by high school students to help other students long after she’s gone.

“I’m a mighty proud mom,” Madeline’s mother, Kimberly Emmi, said.

Madeline started Project Sandwich three years ago when she was a freshman. She said this philanthropic movement started after a conversation with her art teacher, Allison Little, over the fact students in need of meal assistance had access to school-provided breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday but nothing on the weekends.

“So we brainstormed and came up with Project Sandwich,” Madeline said.

It started with about 10 WHS students in need, according to Madeline. She said there’s currently 17 WHS students in the program. Other schools like Palmer High School and Teeland Middle School were inspired by her efforts and have adopted Project Sandwich chapters of their own.

“It makes me happy because it is students feeding students. We don’t get any money from the district or anything. So, it makes me pretty excited seeing other students wanting to take action,” Madeline said.

Every week, participating students get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with about four to five snacks, Madeline explained. She said the snack selection looks different at every school but is more or less the same concept: giving out things like pop-tarts, fruit snacks, and instant ramen noodles.

Discretion is key and all participating students remain anonymous. Madeline said the school nurses at each school are the ones who distribute the bags of food.

“I have done this for three years and have never seen a name,” Madeline said.

She said that she hopes to have three more schools adopt Project Sandwich next year. She ultimately wants to see every school in the district follow suit. She said it started small with help from her family and has grown each year.

“It was my mom and sister and I waking up every Friday morning at like 5 a.m. to make like 20 sandwiches,” Madeline said.

Madeline has been a part of her school’s government since she was a freshman. Last year, the student government adopted Project Sandwich to their list of duties and has since helped make the meals. She said this has been really helpful.

“I know after I leave, they’re going continue on. So, I’m hoping that other schools come up with their own way to continue it,” Madeline said.

After Madeline graduates, she is heading down to Oregon to attend Portland State University to study special education. She said that her younger sister Lydia is a sophomore at WHS and will help take on the role until she too graduates.

“She’ll kinda’ be my eyes and ears,” Madeline said with a laugh.

Madeline said that her other project, the Prom Dress Drive helps allocate funds to help other schools start up Project Sandwich. She said the Prom Dress Drive had humble beginnings and started much like Project Sandwich.

“That actually started my freshman year in a coat closet at Wasilla High,” Madeline said.

Madeline said that the same teacher, Little, said that each year there’s a number of girls who don’t attend prom simply because they can’t afford a dress.

“A prom dress is a big part of the expense,” Madeline said.

The Prom Dress Drive was previously exclusive to WHS students but has since opened to any girl in the Valley who wants to go to prom but needs help finding a dress.

This year, Madeline held the drive for two full weekends at the Grand View Inn & Suites where girls from the community sorted through about 140 donated prom dresses. Dresses cost $10 or more, depending on the dress. She said that she’s heard a lot of positive feedback from the girls and their families.

“They’ve been telling me, ‘my daughter would not be able to go to prom without this opportunity,’” Madeline said.

Madeline said that she has several girls who are interested in taking the mantle when she graduates and Kimberly said that she want to help keep it going too. She expressed her strong sense of parental pride over he daughter’s generous nature.

“It’s very indicative of her heart. She definitely has a generous, giving nature. The thing that I like the most is seeing it inspire so many other students that wouldn’t have necessarily had an opportunity before, to see how easy it is to give back, to support their own peers,” Kimberly said.

The dresses are still available to anyone interested and will be for the coming weeks. Girls can stop by Kimberly’s boutique The Beaded Moose to try on dresses. The Beaded Moose is located at 4255 East Birchwood Drive in Wasilla. For boutique hours and information, call 907-232-7782.

School’s interested in starting a Project Sandwich chapter can contact Kimberly Emmi at 907-232-7782 or thebeadedmoosealaska@gmail.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com