Students Raise More Than $6,000

— The Fayetteville High School Student Council will continue its fundraising effort into next week in an effort to generate $10,000 for the School District’s Families in Transition program.

Some 21 student council members slept in cardboard boxes in front of the school Thursday night to raise awareness, money and food for the district’s homeless students.

By mid-afternoon, Davis Trice, student council president, reported between $6,000 and $7,000 had been raised. He couldn’t be more specific, he said, because the council was awaiting delivery of checks to cover pledges made to the annual Homeless Vigil.

The large boxes, converted to sleeping quarters for a night, were donated by various businesses in the community, Trice said.

Everyone spent the night outside and kept warm with the help of a fire in a 55-gallon drum that was in the center of the cardboard community, Trice said.

“I’m a little tired today,” he said, noting he did get a few hours sleep.

“We’re still taking donations,” he said.

Donations can be mailed to Fayetteville High School, in care of Vance Arnold, Student Council sponsor, 1001 Bulldog Blvd., Fayetteville AR 72701.

Contributions can also be paid through PayPal on a site created by the high school parent-teacher organization. The link is www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2NKUNZK9USK7S.

Marian Riner, the district’s Families in Transition coordinator, said the number of homeless students in the district has increased 89 percent in the last six years, from 160 students in 2006 to 302 students last year.

She’s working with more than 160 homeless students and their families this school year. Her job is to help secure housing for families who are homeless, living in cars or motels or possibly staying with other family members.

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