Hillside Students "Jammie Up," Raise $750 for Relief Effort in Japan

Editor's Note: The following press release was submitted by Johnna Hunt, principal of Hillside Intermediate School.

This past Friday, students at Hillside Intermediate School had the chance to mix learning and fun with giving back to their school and global community.

When students learned of the terrible tragedy in Japan they organized a “Jammies for Japan” day. On Friday, March 18 students and teachers made donations of a dollar or more for the privilege of wearing comfy pajamas and bathrobes to school. In total $750 was raised for the relief efforts in Japan.

The giving didn’t end there. That evening students returned to school for a dance to raise money for a second automated external defibrillator (AED) for the school. Former teachers Fred and Jeannie Scheithe donated their time to DJ, while parents and teachers chaperoned and sold snacks as the kids enjoyed a night of dancing with their friends. Ticket sales and money earned from snacks was enough for the PSA to be able to purchase a new AED.

Friday also marked the final day of a very successful can and bottle drive led by the fifth grade language arts department. As part of a unit on nature, student’s combined the advantages of recycling with the desire to help others. The money from the drive will be used to purchase a goat from the Heifer Project for a needy family in Africa.