Maggie McGovern, Support Editor
On Monday, November 26, 2018, five brave teachers came to Perkiomen Valley High School in various animal costumes as a part of Take Action’s fundraiser for the Humane Society of the United States.
Take Action is a club that urges Perkiomen Valley to help the environment by becoming more aware, donating, volunteering, etc. Their annual fundraiser raised $450 this year. The teachers chosen for the fundraiser were Mrs. Crescenz as the pig, Mr. Hinkle as the penguin, Mr. Hunsicker as the turkey, Mr. Overholtzer as the flamingo, and Mr. Sullivan as the frog.
Mr. Craven, head of the Take Action club, mentioned that the members came up with the idea to do this fundraiser. PV’s The Voice spoke with Regan Donovan, a sophomore and member of Take Action, who said, “This fundraiser is important for PV to do because it raises awareness for animal cruelty and the proceeds go to a great cause! A lot of animal cruelty happens in the factory farming industry, which contributes to climate change and pollution, which many people do not know.”
Throughout the week leading up to the day of the fundraiser, teachers throughout the high school volunteered to wear an animal costume and the students and staff of Perkiomen Valley High School quickly donated and voted. Each voter paid twenty-five cents for one vote or chose the option of donating a dollar for five votes. The teachers with the most votes, listed above, were chosen and wore their costumes the day students returned from Thanksgiving break.
All of the teachers chosen were happy to help the Humane Society, a group that aims to help animals in need.
When asked what motivated him to volunteer, Mr. Sullivan said, “I support anything with the Take Action Club, there’s a large umbrella of things they help with.” Mr. Hinkle added, “I’ve done it for ten years.”
PV’s The Voice also asked each teacher what their spirit animal was, since they were dressed in a variety of creatures and might have needed to channel them.
Mrs. Crescenz responded with, “My spirit animal is a wolf but I love all animals.” Mr. Hunsicker responded as well, citing his spirit animal as a tasmanian devil.
Costumes aren’t always comfortable and these five teachers, who had to wear them for an entire day, had some playful things to say about sacrificing their comfort for a good cause.
Mr. Overholtzer, the flamingo, said, “It’s itchy right under the chin,” where the neck of the flamingo started. Mr. Hinkle, the penguin, agreed, “It’s not comfortable, the beak gets in my eyesight. I can’t see.”
Although there might have been some trouble with beaks and long necks, each teacher gave positive feedback about the event.
Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Hunsicker, and Mrs. Cresecenz all said, “It was fun, and I’m happy to help Take Action and the Humane Society.”
All in all, Take Action did a wonderful job facilitating this event and the teachers put a smile on students’ faces when they walked by. As Mr. Craven puts it, “It’s raising money for animals and meant to remind us all how similar we are…This was a good year.”