On Friday night, January 26th, the boys MHS basketball team faced SJO for the Orange Out game to raise money and awareness for St. Jude in honor of late nurse of Monticello schools, Natalie McDowell. Despite the loss to the Spartans, the game was very close with a final score of 42-39. Sophomore Brady Ball described the atmosphere of the game as “a better [and] more energetic game than usual. The student section was good, and the fire-shooter [too].”
Monticello’s community is well known for coming together during times when people inside are vulnerable. The passing of McDowell was an example of one of these cases. McDowell was involved in a fatal collision in November, 2021. Soon after, the Monticello community along with MHS Pep Club knew that it was only right to make the annual Orange Out game in remembrance of the late staff member of MHS.
McDowell was always a big supporter of St. Jude. She spent her time participating in many St. Jude runs and would always be a leader in advocating fundraising for St. Jude. When preparing for Orange Out, Pep Club knew the impact McDowell made on this organization, so it was only right to make sure all of the money raised went directly there.
Even with two days not in session due to hazardous weather, MHS Pep Club, who takes on fundraising for the event every year, raised a total of $9,000 through homeroom activities, student involvement, and the basketball game.
With Pep Club down to three days, the members had to quickly start the annual class competitions. Luckily, the time crunch didn’t end up affecting the fundraising. Pep Club sponsor Mrs. Stetson said, “since this was our 3rd year doing it, we felt pretty prepared.” Students have always played a huge role with the money raised. Stetson added, “Our first year we raised $12,500 and last year we raised $7,500. We are just shy of raising $30,000 in the three years hosting this event.”
This past game was the third year of doing Orange Out at MHS. To fulfill the goal of everyone wearing orange, MHS Pep Club sold shirts, sweatshirts, and other apparel to help create a sea of orange to honor McDowell at the game. The design consisted of ways to remember the beloved nurse. Along with the color orange, McDowell loved leopard print, so Pep Club made sure to include the unique pattern on the print. Across multiple MHS led social medias, “#shinenatalieslight” was used to get word out on the event.
Ashley Stiverson, Staff Writer
stias26@sages.us
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