NHS volunteers awarded cash prize at Junior Achievement Race
By: Ariel Inman
Tennis shoes pounded a steady rhythm against the pavement as the finish line came into view. Despite the burning in their muscles the runners pushed themselves to a faster pace as the prospect of finishing drew closer and closer. Cheers and uproarious applause erupted from the crowd but the faces all blurred together as the ribbon tied across the finish line was broken, medals were distributed, and winners were named.
This was the scene Saturday, October 24th when NHS (National Honor Society) members attended the Junior Achievement Race for Success at Slack Elementary to volunteer during the 5K, 10K, and half marathon races. This was the third annual fun run the organization has coordinated and several businesses, runners, and volunteers showed up to support Junior Achievement in their fundraising endeavor. Out of all the volunteering clubs present, Hudson High School’s NHS had the most number of volunteers show up, resulting in them being awarded a $150 cash prize.
“We were not planning on winning the money, that’s not why we went, but because they did give it to us we are just looking at opportunities that we can use that money to give back to our students the most.” Holly Ratcliff, NHS President, said, “We were very excited that so many members came; we did require it but they also woke up really early on a Saturday morning and came to help. We were thrilled that so many people cared enough about this organization and about Junior Achievement to give up their time to come and we were just really happy with the success of the race as a whole.”
Participating NHS members were stationed at Hall’s Grocery on South Chestnut to pass out water and offer encouragement to the runners.
“National Honor Society is a group of students who are very honorable and who love to serve people and represent their community and so part of what we do is we do service projects as a group because we can accomplish more together than we can apart.” Ratcliff said, “The Junior Achievement run was just a really good cause, they help students in our schools, and students in all the schools throughout Angelina County. Volunteering to help them raise money is just a really good use of our time because they’re an excellent organization, they do great things for us and for our community and we just agree with what they do so we wanted to help out.”
NHS participates in several community service projects throughout the year with mandatory group service projects in the fall and spring.
“I enjoy volunteering because I get to meet different people throughout the community and I get to assist in ways that I wouldn’t normally be able to.” Kristen Ferrara, NHS member and Race for Success volunteer, said, “NHS is a selfless organization and it uses the funds it makes to help out with the school and help out with other people throughout the community and I know that the money we earned is a good thing because we’re going to use it in a way that's going to benefit the students of Hudson High School.”
Photos of the event can be viewed here: http://www.dylanerichardson.com/
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