NORTHAMPTON – Northampton High School freshmen will be picking up trash this Sunday in downtown Florence as part of a fundraiser for events such as the senior prom for the class of 2024. But for student organizers and volunteers, the event is also a socially distanced way to re-connect with classmates in person.
Ari Daube Valoi, a 14-year-old freshman from Florence and co-president of the class of 2024 at Northampton High School, said aside from Zoom meetings, most freshman students haven’t been able to interact with one another.
“It’s definitely been very very different,” Daube Valoi said. “Zoom is tough because it’s tough to participate. It really just feels like the teacher is giving a newscast. It’s a monologue kind of. We chip in sometimes for questions. Over half the class, their video is off. The few people with their videos on, they’re just kind of sitting there. It’s very boring, to be honest. It’s so different from regular school. My favorite part of regular school is meeting new friends and talking with people and getting to know people. That’s kind of all gone.”
Teddy King-Pollet, a 14-year-old freshman from Northampton, co-president of the class of 2024 at Northampton High School, said the fundraiser was planned as a way to “do something good for the community” while also raising money for their class. They hope to raise $200 to $300 during the event, which runs from 2 to 5 p.m.
“We thought that having a trash pickup would be a really good way to do that,” he said.
King-Pollet said it’s difficult to go through a school day without even just small social interactions that he’s used to. This event gives him and others in his class a chance to catch up as acquaintances that he’d normally see every day at school.
“We really haven’t had a chance to meet the new students this year that are coming from JFK Middle School and we really hope that the new students will come to this fundraiser and we’ll get to meet them,” he added.
Daube Valoi said there will be about 15 to 30 volunteers, not including eight student government members. Volunteers must wear masks and will be socially distancing at least six feet apart from one another. The hope is to pick up at least five pounds of trash during the afternoon.
King-Pollet said a donation form will be launched on the school’s website, where community members, parents, friends, relatives, or guardians can sponsor the class of 2024 based on how many pounds of trash is picked up or give a flat donation. For more information visit www.northamptonschools.org/project/northampton-high-school/.
Chris Goudreau can be reached at cgoudreau@gazettenet.com.