SCRANTON, Pa. — West Scranton High School students celebrated dress-down day by wearing Scranton Stands with Ukraine t-shirts. Last month, students came up with the idea for the fundraiser to sell t-shirts for $15 to help aid people in Ukraine.
"It's going to go to Nova Ukraine. It's a highly respected charity," said senior Tyler Michel. "All of the proceeds going to the charity will go to Ukraine for supplies and food."
The fundraiser took on a life of its own as people from outside the school district purchased shirts. During dress-down day, the school held an assembly to reveal that the students raised more than $8,300.
"It really makes a difference, especially since we have people so close to home that are affected by it," said senior Tori Herme. "I was so surprised to make that much money. We had calls from a whole bunch of different states. I was really surprised about how they even heard about that."
The main effort was to raise money for Ukraine and for Scranton to stand with Ukraine. What they didn't know was how much it would bring the school district together.
"I think the community as a whole and the Scranton School District came together, and it's not just a West Scranton High school thing. It's really a great school district fundraiser, and it's been a tremendous success," said West Scranton High School Principal Robert Deluca.
"We aimed for about $1,200 and, you know, we doubled, even tripled that, so it's very impressive how much the greater Scranton community has come together to raise money for Ukraine," Michel said.
The school says they will continue selling t-shirts for a little while. They are available online here.
See more videos on our area's connection to the Crisis in Ukraine.