MONROE — While they may be too young to drive themselves to the fundraising events they put together, one local group of students has not let their age, the COVID-19 pandemic or any other obstacle stop them from raising thousands of dollars for their community.

“Move it Forward” is the name of this seven-member group of rising sophomores from Monroe High School. 

As per their namesake, the organization’s founding five members have been moving their kindness — and the money they have raised through their efforts — forward to Big Brothers Big Sisters since they were in middle school. 

Member Ethan Rosenstiel “knew [he] wanted to do something” to help those in need of support, he said.  

To accomplish that aim, he rounded up some like-minded peers. 

The friends shared a common mission of serving the community. 

They put together their volunteer group in early 2019. By March 2019, they were already holding their first fundraiser — a charity hockey game that raised upwards of $5,000, he said. 

They were aiming to raise around that much, Rosenstiel added. 

Even so, they were not sure exactly what the turnout would be, said member Kate Kundert. 

She was happily surprised when around 15-20 kids from their class showed up to watch the first game, she said, commenting that she didn’t think that so many eighth grade students would take the time out of their weekend for it. 

Local middle and high school players took center stage on the ice skating rink for the event. 

Rosenstiel has played hockey since he was three-years-old, so he was able to round up some participants to put together a couple of teams.

They played in an exhibition match with free entry.

A bake sale, silent auction, raffle baskets, audience participation games during intermission, and sponsorships from local businesses helped them bring in funds.

The group’s motto is “Kids Helping Kids,” Kundert said, so the Big Brothers Big Sisters cause resonated with them.  

Despite the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group was able to raise a comparable amount during their 2021 game, Rosenstiel said. 

Since a bake sale and other elements of their previous game were out of the question this time around, “I feel like we were pretty successful [considering] our circumstances,” Kundert said.

They did not stop there, either. 

They branched out in 2021, holding another fundraiser this summer. 

They also decided to grow their circle and add in two new members, Abby Grossen and Taylor Herbst.

Rather than centering that event around a hockey game, volleyball and bean bag tournaments were the focal point. A silent auction and concessions were other included elements. 

The proceeds went toward getting a splash pad for the city, since member Ryan Mathiason said that addition is something they could see benefiting kids in the region. 

In the end, they raised around $2,000, Rosenstiel said. 

“We kind of know what to do in the future” now, too, so it was a good learning experience, he added. 

Before they start working on the summer of 2022 event details, though, they will put together next March’s charity hockey game. 

While it’s still months away, they are going to start the planning process soon, Kundert said, since they don’t like to be rushed.

Even as middle school students, the members regularly scheduled and showed up for video conference meetings to iron out all of the details for their projects, said Amy Kundert, Kate’s mother. 

Despite their young age, “they make a plan and then work the plan afterward,” she said. Though the members’ parents have been supportive and have given them rides around town as needed, “the kids really have done it all themselves.”

They split tasks up so everyone has a job to do, Kate said. She and member Katrina Sathoff have worked a lot on handling the raffle basket and ticket details. 

Mathiason, who aspires to one day have a career in finance, takes care of budgeting so they can purchase all of the items they need to run a successful event. 

The division of responsibility helps the process run more smoothly, Kate said. 

Their friendship makes it easier to work together, too, she added.

Broad support from the community has also been incredible to see, said member Lizzy Boll. 

To Rosenstiel’s surprise, even when the group’s members were still middle school students who had never organized a fundraiser, many businesses contributed to their cause when they went around knocking on doors seeking out donations.

As a parent of a Move it Forward member, Amy said she is impressed by how much money they have raised for local causes, but even more proud that they are doing the work for the purpose of giving back. 

With the students in driver’s education now, they may have even more flexibility to volunteer in the future, she noted — though not having a set of wheels underneath them has never really slowed them down in the past.