Student-run project raises awareness of hunger in Southeast Raleigh Food Desert
Enloe High School Student Council raised a record-setting $92,000 for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle through their annual event Charity Ball. The student council is a 63 member, entirely student-run organization, elected by the Enloe student body.
Students worked from October 4th through December 6th to plan the event and raise $92,000 entirely off of donations and sponsorships. About 1,200 students and community members attended this year's Charity Ball, held December 6. This semi-formal gala included a live band, swing dancing, a non-alcoholic drink bar, a chocolate fountain, and many different types of food.
The Charity Ball event is held every year at Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. Each year, Enloe students work to bring community issues and needs to light, and raise money for the organizations working to overcome those issues.
The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle was chosen this year because of its commitment to help end food insecurity in the Southeast Raleigh area, where Enloe is located and all of the planning for Charity Ball took place. Because of this location, the issue of hunger and food insecurity hits very close to home. One-third of the student body is on free or reduced-price lunch, meaning they are risk for hunger day in and day out. Enloe High School is also home to the only Food Pantry in a Wake County High School, stocked weekly by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle with fresh produce and other healthy food.
"What makes Charity Ball so great is the collaboration among students at Enloe,” said Enloe Student Council’s VP of Public Relations, Neil Peterson. “The school truly comes together to make this happen whether it is donating money through homeroom competitions or raising awareness about hunger in North Carolina."
"What they were able to accomplish is breathtaking," said IFFS Co-Founder and CEO Jill Staton Bullard. "It leaves you speechless. It was so empowering and refreshing to see that dedicated group of about 1,000 students who all got it – they got what the issue of hunger is and what the solutions could be. It makes me feel so confident in the future of our community."
Each year, Enloe Student Council picks a charity and sets a goal. In 2013, Enloe Student Council raised $63,000 for SAFEChild of NC. In 2012, Enloe Student Council Raised $50,000 for InterAct of Wake County. In the future, Charity Ball hopes to gain more ground by breaking records in the amount of money raised while spreading awareness about the selected charity and its cause.