Sewickley Academy students stepping up to help victims of Hurricane Helene with fundraiser
SEWICKLEY ― Three local teenagers are hosting a fundraiser to help the victims still struggling in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
The Hay Way fundraiser kicks off at the Sewickley Heights History Center at 5:30 p.m. May 8, offering "light bites" and entertainment by Genevive Carlson for a $20.25 donation. Funds raised will be used to purchase truckloads of Pennsylvania hay to send to farmers in North Carolina who continue to struggle with recovery from the hurricane in September 2024.
Three Sewickley Academy seniors, Skylar Nocito, Chiara Zeitler and Maria Sirianni, are hosting the fundraiser. The girls say they were all raised around farmland and horses, which made them empathize with the North Carolina farmers.
'Life is challenging for farming families in the best of times,' Sirianni said. 'It's only right that people who benefit from their work help out when a disaster threatens them.'
'Once the storm passed, national attention shifted to the next big story,' Nocito said. 'But just because the rain stopped falling doesn't mean the disaster has ended. Farm animals still need to be fed. Families have to get the farms back up and running.'
Another driving force for the fundraiser is the renewed need for support in North Carolina as federal support ends. Request for continued support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was recently denied, with the newly appointed leadership at the federal agency saying that the continued support for farmers and residents was decided to be 'not warranted.'
'This is a moment where Americans can show the real meaning of volunteerism,' Zeitler said. 'We're hoping folks from the region come out to share in the effort.'
Community members can RSVP for the event by emailing thehayway25@gmail.com or calling 412-588-3147.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Three local students helping Hurricane Helene victims with fundraiser
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