Haven’s Interact Club raised $2,801.19 this year for the Make-A-Wish Rising Stars program, surpassing its fundraising goal by over $800 and helping grant the wish of Naccai, a child living with the severe form of MPS I.
Over several months, students organized school and community events aimed at supporting the Make-A-Wish foundation and building awareness.
Rising Stars is a leadership-driven fundraising challenge that empowers high school students to make a difference by supporting children with critical illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. From January to March, student leaders organize creative events for their communities to raise funds and encourage community involvement.
“It is basically a program for schools in the Delaware Valley area to raise money for their own Wish Kid as a part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” senior and co-president Lexi Benzing said.
This year, Interact Club supported Naccai, a 9-year-old with the wish of visiting Disneyland and LEGOLAND.
The opportunity to be involved with Rising Stars was introduced through the club advisers as a choice for the club’s annual service initiatives.
“Every year Interact takes on two different projects,” English teacher and co-adviser Robert Zakrzewski said. “When we saw this one, we thought it would be a good fit, and it was.”
To reach their goal, Interact Club organized a variety of fundraisers, including restaurant nights at Panera and Chipotle, in-school events like ‘tattoo a teacher,’ and a community game night held in the high school gym.
Among the different fundraisers, the game night (named Wish Night) received some of the strongest participation, bringing together families from many different grade levels and generating over $600 in a single evening.
“We had students and families from the entire school district come together… and we had fun games and fundraising events,” junior and co-vice president Ella Henzel said.
Interact Club ultimately exceeded expectations, raising more than they initially planned and contributing directly to granting Naccai’s wish.
“The goal was $2,000, and we ended up with $2,800. So we went well over our goal, and that did allow us to help Naccai get his wish,” Zakrzewski said.
The fundraising ended with an event at Dave & Busters for all the schools that took part in the fundraiser to gather and share results and celebrate the program and their efforts. Students attended a dinner, heard from organizers, and witnessed the direct impact of the program.
“They had, not our Wish kid, but another Wish kid that was impacted through Make-A-Wish come, and they granted his wish there,” Henzel said. “It was really nice because we were able to see the impact, firsthand, of what we were able to raise money for.”
