Students participate in a fundraiser and continue a Tee-shirt drive to donate to an orphanage in Asia.

Band, orchestra, and choir students are taking part in a three week fundraiser to collect small-sized tee-shirts for an underprivileged area in Burma (Myanmar).

“We had a band student, Andrew Montonera, whose family has taken mission trips to Mayanmar and are helping to supply and work with an orphanage there. It expanded into having Tri-M (music honors society) have choir and orchestra, as well as band contribute to bringing t-shirts,” Sheri Conover, Band director,said.

The organization that sponsors this particular fundraiser is “based on scholarship and service to the community and school,” Conover explained.

“Andrew’s father actually came to me initially and asked about it. The first time we did this, we only did it with the band, and this go around I decided it was a good opportunity to use our service organization of Tri-M to help spearhead,” Conover said.

The music program is promoting the fundraiser through the daily announcements, as well as through student leadership. Jessie Houghton, sophomore, wants to encourage people to contribute to what she calls a “great cause.”

“I’ve really been trying to spread the word vocally, and I know that other people who have been chosen as someone to spread the word made announcements during band,” Houghton, a band student, said.

Houghton and Conover hope that getting the word out about this fundraiser will result in hitting their goal of 500 tee-shirts this year.

“I’d love to see complete success of [reaching the goal], but if not, my overarching goal is that the students take some ownership of the project,” Conover said. “I really do think that [this teaches high school students how fortunate they are] because they’re probably looking through their old shirts and thinking ‘Boy, I have a lot and I don’t need them anymore,’ but somebody else is so grateful and so happy to just get somebody else’s used t-shirts.”

The music department will collect donations through this Friday, October 23. Drop off donations in the music rooms.

“I’m proud of the students for wanting to step up and take part in this because it’s kind of an easy thing to do. It doesn’t involve collecting any money or selling anything, and their time was minimal since all they had to do was bring in shirts,” Conover said. “It’s something easy they can do and it makes a huge impact.”