Dexter Middle School Students Raise $3,000 for Local Charities

It's said that children have a heart of gold, and students at in Dexter are proving that saying is true by helping out the less fortunate in their community.

Led by teachers Val Berryman and Marianne Mutschler, the school's has been hard at work raising money for local and state charities.

In December alone, students organized a school-wide food drive for the Faith in Action food pantry, bringing in 1,640 cans of food; organizing a candy cane drive for the nonprofit, Believe in Miracles; and oranizing a clothing drive for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD).

"It's amazing to see the power of our students when it comes to motivating others to give back to their community," Mutschler said.

For the fourth consecutive year, the class has organized a "money wars" change drive, where students throughout the school compete with other classrooms to see which class can raise the most money. This year, the effort yielded a total of $3,338, which will be donated to the WISD to help purchase socks, underwear and other clothes for homeless students.

"We were literally counting change every night for three weeks," Berryman said. "This year, by far, is the best we've ever done."

Student Ryan Flattery said he enjoyed participating in the contest.

"I'm not going to get a job, because I hate money now," he joked.

Fellow classmate Kyle Wheeler donated $120 in change to the effort through a combination of donations from his grandparents and $47 from his monthly allowance.

"It was really nice to see students like Kyle putting forth the extra effort to call their extended families to ask for donations for the fundraiser," Berryman said.

With the promise of an ice cream party on the line, Berryman said the last week of the fundraiser, which concluded Dec. 16, was very competitive.

"The students were really inspired to help out after we watched a program on 60 Minutes that profiled homeless children in Seminole County, FL.," she said.

With Christmas break beginning this week in the district, Berryman said students are already prepping for January fundraisers. Students are currently collecting fleece to make blankets for the Veteran's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Michigan hospital and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. They will also conduct a used eye glass drive for the and raise funds for U-M's annual Dance Off fundraiser in the spring.

"We're really proud of what our students accomplish in our leadership program," Berryman said.