Pep Club ran several events over the past several weeks to raise money in honor of Natalie McDowell. All if it culminated in a Pep Assembly on Wednesday, January 29th. Students heard from Mrs. McDowell’s husband, learned more about the St. Jude Run, and watched as their fellow classmates and teammates were pied in the face. This year’s Orange Out festivities were incredibly successful, raising $8,000 for St. Jude.
Junior Pyper Burton said, “The Orange Out assembly was very important to me because it brought the whole school together for a good cause to honor Natalie and to continue to shine her light. By having this assembly it helps educate the entire high school about Natalie and how big of an impact she had on not the school district, but the entire community.”
Senior and volunteer of St. Jude, Kinsley Neighbors, said, “It meant more this year because I was able to share my experience volunteering for St. Jude.” She encouraged anyone to join in on the run and shared the necessary requirements to sign up.
Neighbors added, “I really enjoyed it and was grateful I was able to share. I also hope what I said connected to some people and made someone realize that they’d enjoy doing this kind of thing too.”
Burton shared her reason for helping out, “Being involved in this assembly was very impactful because I knew the money I was trying to raise was going to a good cause to not only help shine Natalie’s light, but also help and give back to those children in need. These children’s lives are impacted daily, and the least I could do was be a part of the assembly to help raise funds for all of the kids and families in need.”
Neighbors noted her favorite part of the assembly, saying, “The pie in the face is always fun to watch.” The most notable was the Burse family who raised several hundred dollars, but ultimately Lily Burse was able to pie her two brothers in dramatic fashion.
Burton said, “My favorite part of the assembly was getting to listen to Natalie’s husband talk about Natalie and all of the wonderful things she did and all of the things she loved. He has always been extremely supportive of this fundraiser and continues to help out and speak about her at our assemblies. Listening to him speak about her helps put into perspective how much of an impact she had on so many people in the community and school district.” This was the first time students heard directly from someone related to Natalie and it reinforced the impact this fundraiser has.
The St. Jude Run will take place on August 1st. Sign ups are available online. Each runner is encouraged to raise $1,000 for their spot. Bake sales, raffle tickets, and yard sales, are all a great way to raise money.
Ashlyn Dannaman, Staff Writer
danas25@sages.us
The Sage Informer 
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