NHS starts new tradition of 'Wish Week'

Niwot High School students are no strangers to helping the community. Whether it's individual teams having Breast Cancer Awareness Games for their sports or or other groups' fundraisers, students have plenty of opportunities for philanthropy.

After being inspired by one student's personal involvement with the Make-A-Wish organization, as well as seeing other schools' participation, Niwot High School will have its very first "Wish Week." Starting on March 2, the student council will have a variety of activities and fundraisers to donate to the foundation.

"We have a kid, our fundraising is going towards him," said student body vice-president Nick Valin, a senior. "His name is Isaiah and he's from Fort Collins, he's seven and has heart disease, he's our representative."

Valin explained that to reach their $7,500 goal for the week, they will have various after-school events and spirit days inspired by Isaiah's interests. For example, since he loves Disney films, they will have a Disney movie night with popcorn and are hoping to get a blue car (Isaiah's favorite color) with balloons in it. Students will have the opportunity to pay a dollar to guess the number of balloons to win a prize.

"We're also going to have restaurant nights pretty much every night," Valin said. "We're still working on the different restaurants." These nights will give other community members the opportunity to participate and donate to the cause as well as the students.

There is a website set up for community members to donate directly online. It will be open through March 6.

To inform students and community members about the week's events, the organizers will be posting flyers around the high school and the town. They will also work with other student groups to coordinate on social media and get the word out that way.

Valin continued, "We would just love for the community to know what's going on. We're trying to make this a tradition." It's been amazing at other schools, it helps the overall environment and school spirit."

To stay up to date with Wish Week activities, follow Niwot's student council on Instagram at @niwotstuco. The online donation site is http://www.site.wish.org/goto/Niwot2020.