MONROE - Brodhead high-schoolers got an early start Tuesday on a fundraising initiative for Family Promise of Green County, the volunteer program to help homeless in the area.
All day Tuesday, any student who paid a dollar could wear a hat to school. Teachers could wear jeans at work if they donated $5.
The money goes to the Silver Lining Project, an initiative organized by Green County Leaders to raise money for Family Promise and raise awareness about housing insecurity in the county. Green County Leaders is a year-long program for area professionals to learn more about the county and develop leadership skills.
The charity event at Brodhead High School was the first step in a fundraising process that continues through mid-April.
The raised funds will go toward the production of a 10-minute educational video about Family Promise. Monroe's Empire Media Group is contracted to shoot and edit the video.
"They're starting this Sunday," said Bryce Riemer, network director at Family Promise.
From April 1 to 15, Green County Leaders are providing informational posters and tip jars to area businesses for a two-week collection drive. Participants are soliciting businesses now, said Allen Hanusa, an employee at Colony Brands and member of the Green County Leaders Class of 2013. On April 25, staff from the businesses will be invited to a soup dinner as a thank-you for their support.
Other tasks the group is undertaking include putting together a database of area landlords, as a resource for families in need of transitional housing.
A big challenge facing Green County and other rural areas is the lack of subsidized or affordable housing, said Riemer. A low-income job is often easier to find than an affordable place to stay.
"The demand is high, and the supply is low," he said.
Teri LaBorde, student council co-advisor at Brodhead High School, said her students collected more than $200 in Tuesday's "hat day" fundraiser for the Silver Lining Project. Students at the elementary and middle schools in Brodhead are participating in the fundraising effort later this week "so the amount is going to be a lot more."
Even kids who didn't want to wear a hat donated dollars to the fund, she said. They're aware of homelessness as a problem right in their own community. Many students know classmates whose families have been helped by Family Promise, she said.
"Kids know more than we think they know," she said.
All day Tuesday, any student who paid a dollar could wear a hat to school. Teachers could wear jeans at work if they donated $5.
The money goes to the Silver Lining Project, an initiative organized by Green County Leaders to raise money for Family Promise and raise awareness about housing insecurity in the county. Green County Leaders is a year-long program for area professionals to learn more about the county and develop leadership skills.
The charity event at Brodhead High School was the first step in a fundraising process that continues through mid-April.
The raised funds will go toward the production of a 10-minute educational video about Family Promise. Monroe's Empire Media Group is contracted to shoot and edit the video.
"They're starting this Sunday," said Bryce Riemer, network director at Family Promise.
From April 1 to 15, Green County Leaders are providing informational posters and tip jars to area businesses for a two-week collection drive. Participants are soliciting businesses now, said Allen Hanusa, an employee at Colony Brands and member of the Green County Leaders Class of 2013. On April 25, staff from the businesses will be invited to a soup dinner as a thank-you for their support.
Other tasks the group is undertaking include putting together a database of area landlords, as a resource for families in need of transitional housing.
A big challenge facing Green County and other rural areas is the lack of subsidized or affordable housing, said Riemer. A low-income job is often easier to find than an affordable place to stay.
"The demand is high, and the supply is low," he said.
Teri LaBorde, student council co-advisor at Brodhead High School, said her students collected more than $200 in Tuesday's "hat day" fundraiser for the Silver Lining Project. Students at the elementary and middle schools in Brodhead are participating in the fundraising effort later this week "so the amount is going to be a lot more."
Even kids who didn't want to wear a hat donated dollars to the fund, she said. They're aware of homelessness as a problem right in their own community. Many students know classmates whose families have been helped by Family Promise, she said.
"Kids know more than we think they know," she said.