Cheyenne Roach and Erin Richards decided to bake cookies to help orphans in Haiti.
By Beth Williams, Current Staff
When they heard about a poor orphanage in Haiti, Cheyenne Roach and Erin Richards knew they wanted to raise some money for charity. But instead of just asking their families and friends for donations, they came up with their own unique idea to raise money—bake cookies.
For two weeks, the East seniors made cookies and sold them at school. Richards carried around a container full of oatmeal cookies and sold them in each of her classes.
“I liked to make cookies,” Richards said when asked about her charity project. “I thought it was a good idea.”
Instead of charging a set price for the cookies, Richards let each customer pay what they could. Even though Richards is unsure of her profit, she estimates that on average, each person paid 50 cents per cookie.
“People like to get something for their money,” Richards said. “They give less if they don’t have an incentive.”
“They found a way to help out.”
– Christi Fischer, French teacher
All of the money collected was donated to the MABO Orphanage in Port au Prince, Haiti. This orphanage is run by Marco Lisius, who takes in orphans off of the streets and raises them until they are 18 years old. The money raised this year by the French classes will be used to help pay for the orphans’ student fees, which total over $3,000. Without the money raised by the French classes, some of the orphans would not be able to attend school.
Overall, the fundraiser turned out great, according to Christi Fischer, East French teacher. “We raised $1,400 and topped what we did last year,” she said. Fischer is also proud of the work that Erin and Cheyenne have contributed. “They stepped up on their own accord,” Fischer said.
A friendly competition was held this fall to see which French class could raise the most money for the charity. The winning class this year won cupcakes and the satisfaction that they helped others. Although Erin and Cheyenne’s class did not win the competition, their hard work did not go unnoticed.
“Most of Erin and Cheyenne’s money made up their class’s money,” said Madame Fischer. “They found a way to help out.”
(Photograph by Beth Williams, Current Staff.)
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