Niles Township High School District 219 Raises $6,000 For Charity

Information provided by Niles Township High School District 219.

A scooter ride through Niles West, sporting event and concert tickets, restaurant and shopping gift certificates, and cookies baked by a favorite teacher were just a few of the sought-after items that Niles Township High School District 219 teachers, staff and students donated for the schools’ tBay auction recently.

Like the items offered by online auction giant eBay, many unusual and popular objects or experiences were on sale. A stack of 20 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Sold! A primo locker location next year? Sold! Prom tickets and a limo? Of course, that sold!

All in all, the fifth annual tBay brought in close to $6,000 for this year’s School Chest beneficiary, Rustic Falls Nature Camp, a nature getaway for underserved and special needs children and children cancer survivors to take a break from their daily environment and immerse themselves in a beautiful natural setting. 

School Chest, the umbrella organization for Dance Marathon, was created to coordinate the fundraising efforts of Niles North and Niles West into one unified goal: to raise awareness and money for a common cause.

Students are involved in all aspects of School Chest, including: identifying and interviewing applicants from charities; selecting the final beneficiary; and planning all the details for Dance Marathon and other fundraising events throughout the year.

This year’s Dance Marathon will be held from 5 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, May 25 at Niles North High School and attendees will dance, sing and party with District 219 students, while they fundraise for Rustic Falls Nature Camp and a secondary beneficiary, District 219 Education Foundation. Community members are invited to join in the Dance Marathon kickoff at 4:45 p.m. at Niles North to support the fundraising efforts for Rustic Falls. 

Dance Marathon is not only helping Rustic Falls Nature Camp through fundraising but also by rolling up their sleeves and helping to get the job done.

“Since last May, Dance Marathon students have been to the camp nine times. In that time, around 375 students have been there to help in some capacity. This is roughly 1,875 hours of work put into the camp by D219 students!” said Deanna Lentz, one of the founders of Rustic Falls Nature Camp. 

Dance Marathon sponsors include Niles North teachers Pankaj Sharma, Charles Pratt, James Haberl and Tina Helms as well as Niles West Student Activities Director Jessica Pritzker and Niles West teacher Dena Lichterman.