Two Students Featured on Local News for Fundraising Efforts to Fight Human Trafficking
Two Students Featured on Local News for Fundraising Efforts to Fight Human Trafficking
Monday, January 13, 2024
Two current Lutheran West students raised over $20,000 during the month of December to combat human trafficking.
Since childhood, Katie Perkins ’28, current LW freshman, has been passionate about service to organizations that support youth around the world. Upon her family’s move to Northeast Ohio, she discovered an organization called Dressember, which encourages fundraising participants to wear a dress or a tie every day for the month of December and acquire donations from friends, family, and others in their communities. The Dressember organization then ensures that the funds go toward offering victims of human trafficking holistic support and striving to protect vulnerable populations.
Katie took at trip to Guatemala in 2021 and was introduced to the scale of the global human trafficking crisis.
This year, fellow Lutheran West student Gabby Mendat asked how she could help her friend Katie in her fundraising and awareness efforts.
Interestingly, while the Lutheran West dress code allow students to wear pants and skirts with school-branded tops, dresses are not part of the student dress code. However, school administration made an exception for Katie and Gabby, and they, in turn, got creative and turned approved attire into dresses.
When interviewed by News 5 Cleveland, school administrator Thomas Balla emphasized that Lutheran West strives to maintain consistency in its dress code. However, he explained that there was no question the two girls would be allowed to wear dresses, given that it was for such a meaningful and worthwhile cause.
“They’re both phenomenal young students here at our school, and just to see their intuition, their care for others and then their drive to actually stand behind what they believe in,” Balla said to Channel 5. “That’s our goal for our students, alongside the traditional learning that takes place in schools.”
Lutheran West’s mission is to prepare and equip students to excel in service, leadership, and learning while living as disciples who are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ.
These two students truly exemplify the mission by prioritizing service to others and taking a stand on a critical human rights issue that urgently needs attention and funding.
Lutheran West is so proud of the servant leadership demonstrated by Katie and Gabby, and we hope to expand their initiative next December by encouraging the entire student body to wear dresses or ties to raise funds in support of the Dressember organization.
View the full News 5 Cleveland story and video here.