An unidentified teacher at Bell County High School gets a pie in the face as part of a school fundraiser.
In cooperation with Bell County High School Student Government and Youth Service Center, 2018 Rogers Scholar Olivia Lynch organized a “Cans for Kids” holiday food drive.
Lynch, a graduate of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program and a junior at Bell County High School, asked students to bring in non-perishable food items or make a financial donation to provide food for students who might not otherwise have a meal on Thanksgiving.
An added incentive to get students excited about the holiday food drive was to offer a pie-in-the-face fundraising challenge. Students who donated a large number of food items or made a substantial financial donation to “Cans for Kids” got to throw a pie in the face of a teacher.
Bell County High School students raised close to $4,000 through monetary donations and estimated cost of donated non-perishable food items.
“This project was a big help for our mission of getting kids fed over Thanksgiving,” said Samantha Wilson of the Youth Service Center. “I’m so proud of these students’ leadership, and I’m very pleased with how this turned out.”
Lynch said there were a few hiccups along the way, but everyone finally got on board to ensure students did not go hungry over the Thanksgiving holiday break.
“This was very meaningful for me, because it helped feed students over Thanksgiving,” Lynch said. “This project also was inspired by Rogers Scholars, a program for high school sophomores focused on leadership, technology, and entrepreneurship.”
Lynch is the daughter of Sheila Lynch of Middlesboro.