Two West Gore pupils are champing at the bit for a fundraising opportunity.
Amy Short and Jesse Gemmill are preparing a fundraiser for the Cancer Society of New Zealand with their ‘‘Cookies for Cancer’’ idea.
‘‘A couple of my friend’s parents have had cancer, so I wanted to do something to help,’’ Amy said.
The idea ‘‘snowballed’’ from chatter among friends and teachers to a full-blown event last year at West Gore School.
Amy and another pupil baked cookies and sold them locally, which raised $176.10.
They donated the entire proceeds to the Cancer Society but Amy wants to go bigger.
She is hoping other school pupils will also take part in the event.
‘‘We have been emailing different schools to ask if they’d like to take part,’’ Amy said.
‘‘We also presented speeches as a duo to a few schools to get our message across, with Jesse being in his costume to get the point across.’’
They already have some schools and some local churches on board, she said.
‘‘We’re still waiting on replies from some schools but it looks like we’ve got people interested in helping out.’’
Amy has already prepared order forms and extra aspects so schools can ease in without worry.
The pair said they had emailed Cookie Time to see if they could get some help there.
West Gore deputy principal Rebekah Prattley said she was ‘‘very impressed’’ with the pupils.
‘‘It’s just awesome to see them have so much empathy for others at their age,’’ she said.
‘‘Even just standing up in front of senior students and big schools to tell them their ideas
— it’s a brave step for them.’’
Amy wants the idea to become ‘‘massive.’’
‘‘It would be good for it to become known across the country,’’ she said.
‘‘Imagine if it was worldwide. That would be cool.’’
She is attending Blue Mountain College next year and said she would continue to host the event each year in future.
Schools and people interested in getting involved could email her at [email protected].
