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Canfield students organize national fundraiser
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Neighbors | Emily Gianetti.Rebekah Green, a National Honor Society member, volunteered to pass out information at the benefit on March 9 at Barnes and Noble. .
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Neighbors | Submitted.National Honor Society members, from left, Marisa DeSanto, Michael Dohar and Bhamini Patel were in charge of the welcome table where they handed out information about dyspraxia at the benefit for Dyspraxia Foundation USA on March 9 at Barnes and Noble.
By EMILY GIANETTI
The Canfield National Honor Society can now add “national fundraiser” to the list of projects its students have completed.
On March 9, Jennifer Morris and Emily Gianetti hosted a book fair at Boardman Barnes and Noble to benefit the charity Dyspraxia Foundation USA. The project was a part of their NHS service project, something all members must complete as a part of membership in the organization. The two raised $110 in the three hours they spent at the store.
“My little sister has dyspraxia. It’s a motor-planning disorder, so it makes it difficult to learn new skills and sometimes even to talk,” said Gianetti. “It really means a lot that I got to do something to help people who have the same thing. It’s something that’s really important to me.”
Participants had to bring in a voucher and show it at checkout. If they did, 10 percent of the money from their purchase was donated to the charity, which works to raise awareness for the disorder.
“It was a lot of planning,” said Morris. “I emailed a bunch of different schools to get the word out.”
They also went to their own school and local newspapers, and Gianetti filmed a segment for WFMJ. One day after airing, the video was posted on the Dyspraxia USA website and families around the country were planning to buy books during the online portion of the fair, March 10-15. Some even decided to hold a book fair at their local Barnes and Noble.
“We were able to reach over 5,000 people on social media alone,” said Warren Fried, the founder of Dyspraxia Foundation USA. “The online community brought the flyers to their schools and therapy centers. Everyone has done an amazing job to help spread the buzz.”
Fried would eventually like to have enough fundraisers to be able to hold a national conference. However, he said the first fundraiser did a great job in fundraising and spreading the word about a neurological disorder that affects 30 million Americans.
Morris and Gianetti will not have the final fundraising totals for another week, but they are proud of their efforts.
“It was beyond every expectation I could have made,” said Morris.