The Girls Group at Chicago Heights School District 170’s Washington-McKinley School conducted a fundraiser recently to benefit the Humane Society of Chicago Heights.
The Girls Group, comprised of students in Grades 5 – 8, raised $300 as well as boxes of donated items necessary to the Humane Society’s operation.
The group, sponsored by Social Workers Helena Greenfield and Caitlin Zarlengo, and Classroom Assistant Gina Camilleri, began the fundraising initiative after a meeting to discuss community needs and ways to help improve the Chicago Heights area.
At that meeting, the girls decided to raise funds to benefit the Humane Society and began creating posters and planning announcements to publicize the event.
During the two-week drive, all Washington-McKinley School participated in the event. The entire sixth-grade class held a “Penny War Challenge” to increase donations while an 8th-grade Special Education classroom provided posters and fliers to enhance contributions.
“The girls were so very proud to conduct this fundraising event for the Humane Society,” Zarlengo said. “They put a lot of work into starting the drive and were thrilled seeing the donation items come in.”
“The event allowed the girls to see their plans and hard-work put into action while providing an up-close view of a school-wide collaborative effort that provided a strong sense of community as everyone came together to donate to help the Humane Society.”
Greenfield and Camilleri noted the pride felt by the girls as they saw the collections grow and, in understanding how animals affect our quality of life, they were happy to find ways to assist the Humane Society and benefit their community.
The focus of the Washington-McKinley Girls Group is to build self-confidence, develop positive self-esteem, improve classroom behavior, and to help acquire and maintain effective problem-solving skills.
“I’m so very proud to be associated with such an exceptional group of girls who are absolutely on the right path towards obtaining those vital skills,” Zarlengo concluded.