Hallway of Healing: Upland Junior High Students Raise $1,255 For Foster Youth
Upland Junior High students raised $1,255 for the Children’s Foundation of America through their “Hallway of Healing” fundraiser. The fundraiser is part of an annual English course curriculum. Students are given writing assignments and a research project to determine a cause they could all believe in and support. This year, they chose “the human condition,” specifically focusing on foster care.
Each year, the seventh grade class at Upland Junior High vote on one nonprofit organization to support through this annual fundraiser. The class selected the Children’s Foundation of America after learning the Foundation supports multiple agencies that directly help children in foster care. By choosing the Children’s Foundation of America, the students knew they were making a wider reach of impact.
The students worked together with their teachers to organize the “Hallway of Healing” project culminating in a presentation to the community. Guests were welcomed to the school to walk the hallways filled with student illustrations and poems as well as facts about foster care and the Foundation. A couple of students sang and played instruments, some wrote and recited poems, and others gave presentations on foster care and the Foundation. A couple of children even shared their own personal foster and adoption stories.
Additionally, students sold bake sale items, 3D printer art and handmade bookmarks to sell for donations. In all, the students raised over $500 in cash donations. The students also participated in our Back-to-School Drive collecting brand new school supplies, backpacks and snacks for foster youth totaling $755 in value.
The Foundation team was so impressed by all the hard work and passion the students put into their fundraiser benefiting those in foster care. We couldn’t help but be proud of the young philanthropists and all they had accomplished. We were simply honored to be the recipient of their kind efforts. Thank you, Upland Junior High, for your generosity, raising awareness and for encouraging community giving!
Jenelle Phillips, Development Specialist
Jenelle oversees the day-to-day operations and staffing of the Foundation, which includes fundraising events, volunteer coordination, community outreach and donations. Above all, Jenelle’s focus is to identify and access resources in order to help children heal, learn and thrive. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University Fullerton and has become very involved in the community. She is active in her church, owns an art gallery, organizes the local art walk and is on the executive board of the downtown district’s marketing group.