Skip to content

H.J. Cody Interact Club holds fundraiser for a Haitian cause

Students hold hypnotist show and exceed past goals
web1_SM-HJCODY2
BEFORE THE HYPNOTIST - Bronwyn Jones spoke to guests about this year’s objective for the H.J. Cody Interact Club objective - to build a school in Haiti. PHOTO BY SAM MACDONALD/SYLVAN LAKE NEWS

Students at H.J. Cody School have been further building their humanitarian acumen with their newest humanitarian project this year.

The school Interac Club, led by Co-President Brynne Takhar and Project Manager Bronwyn Jones and Co-President Jaidra Russell have organized a new effort to assist people in a faraway part of the world who are in need.

The school Interact Club, a youth Branch of the local Rotary Club, allows students to provide aid to countries in need, through fundraising efforts based in community schools, and is done in conjunction with an organization called We Schools.

This year, the project students at H.J. Cody have undertook is fundraising to support the construction of a new school in Haiti. The fundraising effort to achieve this goal is called the Adopt a Village Project.

A significant part of the fundraising efforts for the Adopt a Village Project took place last Friday, with the school hosting the performance of Hypnotist Clint Worke, an educational cultural presentation by two exchange students from Japan, and a silent auction.

Worke’s performance dazzled and intrigued a crowd of guests that consisted of teachers, fellow students, and many Rotarians from around the community. The performance was preceded by Takhar and Jones speaking about the objectives and progress associated with the Adopt a Village project - particularly the situation in Haiti it was started to assist with, and why Haiti needs support.

Takhar and Jones spoke of the poverty, education-related and social issues Haiti presently contends with, referencing the extensive damage wrought upon the country in the 2010 earthquake that devastated the country and much of its infrastructure.

The goal of this year’s fundraising was to exceed the $2,000 students were able to raise last year, as part of a previous project. Although the exact amount of funds raised that night were not available before the press deadline of the Sylvan Lake News, Jones confirmed that the Interact Club was able to exceed last year’s fundraising total. The total amount of funds needed to build the school in Haiti is $10,000.

“We believe in making a change, and making an impact,” said Jones in a presentation to guests before the hypnotist took to the stage. “And the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

In an interview after the event, Jones noted that she and the other members of Interact were very proud of everyone involved, and she noted she is excited at what was accomplished.

“It was amazing to see what support we got, and to see what the result was, with the amount of work we put into the Adopt a Village project. The end result was just breathtaking,” said Jones. “It’s so good to see how much support you get from the community.”

Alana Routhier, Teacher and Interact Advisor at H.J. Cody School, noted that this year’s project was more ambitious than the previous year’s. Routhier said that students learned a lot from what they achieved last year, and brought that knowledge forward when they organized this year’s effort.

Routher said that the improvements in the Interact Club’s approach to fundraising this year included more concrete goals, more hours of work - both of which made attaining a greater result easier.