Baldwin Middle School, inspired by ill student, raises more than $15G for Make-A-Wish Foundation
Michelle Nardelli and Caroline Ver Planck of Make-a-Wish are presented with a check by Baldwin Middle School National Junior Honor Society eighth-grade students. Credit: Thomas Hengge
A service project at Baldwin Middle School was transformed into a community initiative to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, after students were inspired by a peer suffering from a serious illness.
The students, who are eighth grade National Junior Honor Society members, raised more than $15,000 for the foundation, which grants wishes for children contending with critical illnesses. Ten of the school’s nurses also participated in a first-of-its-kind initiative to complete specialized referral training, after which they were able to directly refer students to the foundation.
Principal Erica Taylor said she received an email from the Make-A-Wish Foundation in August, around the time she was brainstorming ideas for the yearly project, and shared it with Laurie Tricamo, the school's NJHS adviser.
"I didn’t understand why I was so drawn to Make-A-Wish this year, and when this young lady was diagnosed...I said we need to do the work because it’s going to be someone like her who’s going to be able to benefit," Taylor said.
The school started with a goal of $5,000 and quickly surpassed it with the help of parents and others in the school community.
"Times are hard and gas prices are high, and food prices are high, and people still dug into their pockets to give back, which means a lot," Taylor said. "They are an amazing group of people, an amazing community ... and it just shows in just how they showed up for their children."
The Make a Wish donation wall at Baldwin Middle School. Credit: Thomas Hengge
To raise funds, students used social media outreach and also created their own pages on the Make-A-Wish website to share with family members and friends, asking them to donate. They also made bracelets to sell during lunch periods in Make-A-Wish colors. Taylor also asked Superintendent Anthony Mignella and the PTA to help publicize the campaign.
The students celebrated these efforts at an assembly Wednesday where Tricamo and her students presented Make-A-Wish representatives a ceremonial check, watched a video recapping their efforts and heard from a prior wish recipient, Reese Tiller, the child of a school faculty member.
Michelle Nardelli, the director of community fundraising for the Make-A-Wish Metro and Western New York chapters, worked closely with the students to help with fundraising efforts. Nardelli said the students were passionate about the fundraising ideas and raised $5,000 after their first meeting.
"They really just did such an incredible job raising awareness in their community for it, and I think that’s something special," Nardelli said.
The average cost of a wish is $11,000, according to Nardelli, but it depends on the type of wish. She said the money will bring tremendous hope, strength and joy to wish children and their families.
Liya Lyttle, a student and president of the school’s NJHS, said she was inspired by the knowledge that one of their peers was ill.
"At first, I was really shocked, and I felt really sad. I had empathy for the student that I found out had what they were diagnosed with, but honestly, I think it helped all of us push further to make our goal of raising how much money," Lyttle said.
Tricamo said that these students already had the passion without the personal connection.
"Critical illnesses are often silenced, and for children to learn that there could be someone sitting in the seat next to them or in somebody’s family who’s going through something that’s really, really hard," Tricamo said.
Baldwin Middle School students raised more than $15,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The amount was incorrect in a previous version of this story.
