by The Range staff
Mountain Range High School and DECA are coming together for the annual Pie in the Eye challenge to raise money for the Make-a-Wish foundation. This will take place on September 20th in the gymnasium during the Homecoming assembly.
Pie in the Eye is a fundraising competition between teachers and students at MRHS. Each team tries to raise more funds than their competitors, with the losing side getting pied in the face during the homecoming assembly.
This year's Make-A-Wish Kid is named Levi. Levi is 7 years old and has a form of cancer called lymphoma, resulting in him needing a bone marrow transplant. Levi’s dream is to go to Disney World, and Mountain Range is raising money to make that wish come true. Hillary Wimmer, one of the DECA sponsors here at Mountain Range, says Levis interest are wide and varied: “He loves ‘Green Eggs and Ham’, he likes to make smores, eats mashed potatoes, he likes Panda Express, ice cream, chocolate chips, Sonic movies, Phineas and Ferb, playing with his little brothers, chupacabras, Nerf Guns… he watches all these science videos.”
Some students have taken it upon themselves to raise money in unique entrepreneurial
ways such as 11th grader Kristy M. who is selling crochet plushies in order to "help raise
money and pie Mr. Fritz,” or 10th grader Lauren who aims to pie Mrs. Hansen by selling
cookies and creating a general fund jar in front of the DECA store. The way Mrs. Wimmer sees
it, "kids can work on their business and marketing skills, in this way they gain experience and
raise funds for a good cause. Students who win get the satisfaction of pie-ing their teacher, as
well as experience raising money."
Ian Simpson, an English and Student Government teacher at Mountain Range, is
notorious for selling pickles, sodas, chips and candy every year to raise money for Make A Wish kids. And nothing has changed this year. Mr. Simpson, who is going against Junior Cody Munzer, says he participates because, "It feels good to help someone and raise money for people who really need it.”
Echoing this sentiment, Mrs. Wimmer explained, “It’s important because you know a lot of times you all have problems right? And you sit there thinking ‘Oh no, life is so bad today’. But, we don’t actually realize the problems that people in our community, maybe even little kids like Levi, are facing.”
Pie in the Eye not only is a fun way for students and teachers to compete against each
other, but it is also a way to help a kid in need and help make their dreams possible. It is easy to take things for granted, so as a school being able to help someone that does not have the same opportunities as most people shows the impact that that the MRHS community can have on their lives.