Fundraiser supper helps hurricane victims

Fort High students saw their charity work pay off big time when the “Hurricane Mitch” fundraiser dinner Sunday night helped them break the $2,000 mark in donations earned.
The dinner, which featured Central American-style cuisine, attracted more than 60 people who raised over $600.
But more than the money, FFHS teacher Keith Gilbert thought the turnout reflected well on how people thought of the students’ efforts.
“People recognized that there are students who care,” he said Monday. “I’m pleased with the unselfish effort on the part of the students.”
Besides exotic food, those on hand also were treated to a presentation by Alex Matiece, who has been to Honduras–one of the countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch in October–a couple of times through the local Rotary Club.
“We’ve been involved in putting in water lines, distributing glasses, building schools, and so forth,” he noted. “My interest is general as well as personal–I know some of the people down there.”
Matiece said the storm left many with nothing.
“Their crops were wiped out,” he noted. “Their beans, one of the Hondurans main food sources, were just coming up, and their coffee plantations are wiped out.
“People tend to think of the immediate effects of the hurricane like houses being destroyed but it’s their resources that were wiped out as well,” he stressed.
“Alex and I wanted to raise an awareness of world affairs in the student body . . . and then bring it to the community,” said Gilbert, explaining the fundraising campaign was as much a learning experience as an act of goodwill.
In November, “Fort Frances High School Students Who Care” raised money for the hurricane victims through a donation drive, which included collecting money within the school as well as placing donation cans in various local businesses during the holiday season.
Including funds raised at Sunday’s dinner, a total of almost $2,200 has been raised.
Gilbert said the dinner most likely was the last fundraising event for victims of Hurricane Mitch.
“I suspect this is the end,” he remarked. “The reality is that there will be other disasters in the world and I’d like to see those tackled in the same fashion by us in the future.”
And the only problem stemming from the dinner?
“We still have leftovers so we’ll be seeing what the staff will eat today . . .” Gilbert laughed.