Latest news with #LimestoneCommunityHighSchool
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Limestone Community High School shatters Easterseals fundraising goal
BARTONVILLE, Ill. (WMBD) — The booming drums and the loud instruments rocked the gym and gave Limestone Community High School students a terrific pick-me-up. But it wasn't to cheer on a sports team but rather to celebrate uniqueness. Limestone raised about $90,000 last year for their annual Easterseals fundraiser. Given that, the seniors issued a challenge and a chance to earn gold — raise $100,000. Easterseals is a national nonprofit devoted to helping kids with developmental delays, disabilities, or other special needs. Challenge accepted and shattered. After not even a month, students raised a total of $125,490. The total wasn't known by the entire student body until it was revealed through numbers on posterboards during the mid-morning assembly. Even a cleverly rehearsed 'accidental' re-arrangement of the numbers that made it appear to students like they missed their goal didn't shake the confidence. 'The seniors set a goal of $100,000,' said Tara Stout, the faculty advisor for the student council. 'And we're like, 'Okay, fine, as long as the message of Easterseals is what's coming through, that everybody is included and empowered to be able to do whatever they want with their goals. Okay, let's make it happen.'' 'And they, of course, blew it out of the water,' she said. Each year a theme is picked for the fundraiser, and this year's was 'The Greatest Showman' to celebrate uniqueness and being proud of who you are. Beaming with pride, Stout said the students' efforts showed the dedication of students as well as the community. 'It just goes to show our community we can do amazing things for other people and have that joy right along with the people that it benefits,' Stout said. Senior Victoria Bartolo is the student body president. She said raising this type of money isn't a simple task. 'It is a labor of love and it does not come easy,' she said. 'But for things like this and the opening assembly and also seeing the difference that we make, it's all worth it.' Several fundraisers including a male pageant called 'Rocket Man,' named after their school's team name, and other events like a golf outing were able to help students achieve the goal the seniors set out to reach. Bartolo said the memories she and her peers have made over her last four years doing this charity won't be forgotten. 'If it's a funny story about one of the events like Rocket Man or just telling everyone that we broke the record, it means the world to me, and it's something that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life,' she said. Limestone puts on 'the greatest show' as they prepare to help a local non-profit Keith Brown, district superintendent, spoke during the assembly about how the effort put into the Easterseals fundraiser reflects on the community and heart of Limestone. 'We are a big proponent of inclusion in our classrooms and in our programs, and you see it every day. The rest of the outside world gets to see it during this month,' he said. 'We believe very, very strongly in inclusion and community.' After the 'business part of the meeting,' students competed against the faculty in tug of war, a cheer routine was performed. Since girls lost in what Limestone dubbed the 'Battle of the Sexes' — a friendly contest to see who raised more money, boys or girls — some female students and faculty had pies thrown in their face by the gleeful boys. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Limestone puts on ‘the greatest show' as they prepare to help a local non-profit
BARTONVILLE, Ill. (WMBD) — Limestone Community High School held its 2025 opening assembly to announce the kickoff of its annual fundraising event to raise money for Easterseals. Easterseals is a local nonprofit dedicating its services to helping kids with developmental delays, disabilities, or other special needs. This is the 49th annual fundraising event for the school, and Senior Student Council President Victoria Bartolo said she is most excited to try and break last year's fundraising record. 'Most importantly, I really want to break the record this year again. We raised $90,000 last year and our goal this year is $100,000,' she said. Each year they pick a new theme which is used to motivate and inspire and give them direction. The theme for this year's event is the 'Greatest Showman' because the movie shows it is okay to be unique, and you should be proud of who you are no matter what Bartolo said. Limestone Community High School kicks off its annual Easterseals fundraiser The event also recognized the Unified Basketball team. Unified is a way for students with disabilities to participate on the same physical education teams as students who don't have disabilities. While this event is important for many, Senior Student Council Vice President Sebastien Meyer says it's special to him as he has family members who have been a part of the Easterseals program. 'I've actually had two family members go through Easterseals, so I've had that direct connection with it. It helps so many people and so many families that I don't know what we would do without an organization like this,' he said. For the next several weeks, Limestone will be hosting a slew of events that are put on as a way to help raise more money. Bartolo said she really enjoys the 'Rocket man' event they are holding this year, which is a male beauty pageant. Meyer said he is really looking forward to the White Out basketball game and auction, which are on the same night. The basketball game this year is on Feb. 8 and is against Metamora which he says also does stuff with Easterseals, so he enjoys seeing the two communities as well as Easterseals come together. The student council worked hard to prepare for the event, Bartolo said they stayed at the school until past 9 p.m. to set up. Stacey Seals who is a PE teacher as well as the Student Council Advisor at Limestone gives all the credit to the students. 'It's a lot, but we are blessed with about 30 of the best kids in the area I would put them up against anyone hands down,' she said. 'They put in so much work, they contact local businesses, they go and speak to local businesses… they organize all these events.' The events run from Feb 4, until the closing ceremony which is held on Feb. 25, where they will announce how much money has been raised. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
