Sussex Academy students raise $2,500 to benefit Water for South Sudan

In what is now an annual event, Sussex Academy sixth-graders raised more than $2,500 in support of Water for South Sudan, thanks in part to the sportsmanship of staff members willing to take a pie in the face.

Each year, students read, “A Long Walk to Water,” by Linda Sue Park, said teacher Jessica Love.

“Two years ago, sixth-grader Grier Lawson brought to me the idea of joining the Iron Giraffe Challenge as a class while we read,” Love said. “The challenge raises money for Water for South Sudan, the nonprofit organization founded by Salva Dut, the protagonist of ‘A Long Walk to Water’ and a Lost Boy of Sudan who survived a civil war and two refugee camps.”

That first year, Grier and her sixth-grade peers raised close to $2,000, Love said. The following year, sixth-graders raised more than $2,000.

“And this year was our highest yet with over $2,500,” Love said, noting that each well costs $15,000 to build and will supply water for an entire village far into the future.

The fundraiser has two parts – one is an external online donation, and the other is Pie in the Face Day, Love said. Staff members volunteer to take a pie in the face, and students buy $1 tickets for a chance to pie that employee.

“Our Pie in the Face Day alone raised $1,021, which means students purchased 1,021 tickets for a chance to pie a staff member in the face,” Love said.

Eager sixth-graders and staff sporting trash bags, shower caps, goggles and other protective gear gathered March 13 in the school multipurpose room. One by one, staff members sauntered to the main arena while their walk-up music played and a winning student was selected to toss the pie.

Sussex Academy staff members who signed up to receive a pie in the face for a good cause are Amy Adamcik, Stacey Alinkoff, Kyle Bentley, Deon Brunskill, Karen Bunting, Channel Chaplin, Jon English, Dawnyel Furlong, Mindy Hete, Stacy Lawson, Jessica Love, Samantha Melvin, Jeff Shade and Sarah Silva.