LOCKPORT, N.Y. — Students often have fundraisers, selling everything from cookies to candles to wrapping paper, but what the kids in the Starpoint school district did recently is something extraordinary.
Students from Fricano Elementary and Regan Intermediate managed to raise $45,200 for Mason's Mission — a non-profit that aims to build specialty playgrounds for kids of all abilities.
Founders Jason and Jennifer Evchich were blown away by the amount of money the kids brought in.
Mason's Mission is named after their son who has a rare disorder that affects his nerves and muscles. Their other son, Matthew, also has a type of leukodystrophy. They don't like to call their kids 'special needs.' Instead they call them 'limited editions' because they are special and unique in their own way.
They started Mason's Mission so their boys and daughter would have a safe place to play and be around other kids, limited edition or not.
They opened their first playground in the fall of 2018 in Pendleton, and Starpoint schools recently reached out to the foundation and said they wanted to help.
The kids collected pledges for a "Play for Playgrounds" event and managed to raise $45,200.
They celebrated their fundraising efforts last week with a special assembly in the high school gym.
The superintendent said it's the most amount of money the district has ever raised for a charity in a single event. The top fundraiser from each school won a trip to Disney World. The top fundraising classes will get a trip to Mason's Mission playground.
Mason's Mission is set to open two new playgrounds between now and September. Some of the money will also be used for scholarships for students and/or recent graduates whose focus is on speech/physical therapy and special education.