PV students sleep in boxes to raise funds for the needy

from the Chillicothe Gazette

By JONA ISON

BAINBRIDGE - As Pike County prepared to walk for hunger, a group of Paint Valley High School students emerged from cardboard boxes in an effort to raise money for the same cause.

The fundraisers were for CROP - Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty - which was begun in 1947 by Church World Service. CROP is an officially endorsed charity of the Ohio FFA, which is how students at Paint Valley became involved.

Instead of doing a walk, the traditional fundraiser for CROP, FFA advisor John Peters has been doing a "Cardboard City" for the last 12 years. When he started at Paint Valley, he brought the concept with him and has had between 40 and 50 students volunteer each year to sleep in a cardboard box overnight in front of the school for a minimum $20 sponsor.

"Those who do sleep on the front lawn have a better appreciation (of what they have)," Peters said.

While the event raises money for CROP and half goes to the food bank in Bainbridge, it also teaches students about giving back and community service along with an appreciation of those who are less fortunate.

The event goes on each year regardless of the weather, and senior McKenzie Reutinger, chapter president, recalled her first year when there was a misty rain throughout the night.

"It really made me appreciate that I had a warm bed to sleep in. At 2 a.m., they woke me up because my box had sunken in (because of the rain) ... It makes the students realize how blessed they really are. You realize you can't always have what you want," she said.

The dinner students had Saturday night wasn't the normal fare either - each student brought a can of something and it all was put into a kettle and cooked over the fire, a kind of "hobo stew." Jim Everhart, chapter reporter, recalled his first experience with "hobo stew."

"It was pretty interesting. It wasn't as bad as I expected," he said.

Although it's a learning experience, the event also creates a social environment where the group can bond.

Friday, Kim Norman, chapter treasurer, was looking forward to her first time participating.

"I'm kind of excited because it sounds like fun sleeping in a box, and it gives you the experience of not having a place to sleep," she said.

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