Natomas Cares: NP3 Students Help Others

BY SUKHMAN RHEKI, NP3 INTERN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

In the spirit of the holidays, students from Natomas Pacific Pathways High School have set up various events raising money and food for communities in need.

NP3’s Take Action Club hosted a week-long fundraiser to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. Members of the club wanted to help rebuild the East Coast communities hit by the disaster throughthe Martin Truex Jr. Foundation.

“It’s important for kids like us to realize the affect that natural disasters like these have on people around the world,” said Mahrukh Mujeeb, secretary of the Take Action Club. “People on the East Coast are helpless, therefore they are seeking our aid. Right now, all that matters is that we are there to support families during this dark time of their lives.”

Throughout the week, several food sales were organized and nearly $415 was sent to the MTJ Foundation in New Jersey; the donation was tripled by their fundraising committee. C.O.R.E. Club and the NP3 freshmen class also donated $150.

Closer to home, the NP3 High School student government arranged a canned–food drive for families who cannot afford meals for during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For two weeks, bins were set up in all advisory classes for students to donate non-perishable items to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. At the end of the fundraiser, more than 1,300 cans were given to the organization.

More recently, the NP3 junior class partnered with Freedom Is Not Free, an organization which helps wounded service members from the military and their families who need financial and emotional assistance.

The 11th graders’ goal is to make the holidays more comforting and enjoyable for those who have served in the U.S. military. The students are making hundreds of cards and decorations that will be used to decorate the Freedom Is Not Free office in San Diego and rooms in which the wounded service members reside.

Starting in the NewYear, the Take Action Club plans to host another fundraiser called the Heifer Project which will raise money to pay to send farm animals to villages in need around the world.

PHOTOS BY KAELYN BLIZZARD