Greendale’s Sources of Strength team has just finished yet another campaign that has brought attention to a variety of important topics. One topic a group did their campaign on was SMA.
SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) is a disease that causes muscle weakness due to neuron loss in the spinal cord. Sources of Strength choose to support a non profit organization called Cure SMA whose goal is to help solve many difficulties people with SMA may face.
“Some struggles of SMA that Cure SMA wanted to solve are difficulty breathing, eating, crawling and walking,” freshman Ruby Sun said.
Sun is one of few students in Greendale who is diagnosed with SMA. She was introduced to the Cure SMA organization and now introduces it to GHS.
“I was diagnosed with SMA a month before my second birthday, so we started going to conferences where we could meet other people from around the world who also had it, and eventually my mom started working for SMA so we have gotten closer with her coworkers and other people who work for it,” Sun said.
Not only has this campaign been important to those who have SMA, it has also helped educate many other students about it. They worked hard advertising their campaign so they could gain lots of support for SMA.
“This campaign taught me how important it is to know about SMA because it affects people I know, and it is more common than I thought it was,” junior Julia Goens said.
In their campaign, they teamed up with Red Robin and sold hot coco. Twenty percent of the hot coco profit made would go to Cure SMA.
All of this work fundraising was well worth it. The Sources team raised lots of money for the organization which will make a huge difference.
“We raised a total of $570 from both direct online donations and our hot chocolate sales. I am currently waiting to hear the final number from our dining out night at Red Robin, so the total number will go up,” sources adviser Alli Brimmer said.
Big campaigns like this often make a big impact of sources members. They have done a variety of campaigns but every lesson they learn is a little different.
“This campaign taught me that little actions can make a big difference and that teamwork
and support are important in creating a positive school community,” senior Avery Xiong said.
Along with lessons learned, students enjoyed preparing this fundraiser. It wasn’t just selling hot cocoa and a red robin fundraiser that these students helped prepare. They made cards for loved ones or for nursing homes, and made lots of posters advertising the fundraiser.
“My favorite part was making the posters, selling hot cocoa during lunch, and seeing how many students and teachers helped participate and supported the cause,” Xiong said.
Whether it’s raising money, setting up posters or making cards, The Sources of Strength team never takes a break from raising awareness to important issues.
