Community Corner
Riverwood Purple Hair Challenge Benefits Kids With Cancer
She made an effort to get to know the children and purchased thoughtful gifts to make their lives easier.
From Riverwood International Charter School: Riverwood International Charter School contributed more than $1,000 to Team Summer and the 2017 Purple Hair Challenge. In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, the Purple Hair Challenge set a goal to raise $20,000 for Atlanta-based Team Summer. Everyone who accepted the challenge and met their individual fundraising goal agreed to dye their hair purple at the end of September. The tremendous community response led to a staggering $42,000 raised (and increased sales of purple hair dye).
Summer Dale, a former Riverwood student diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, started Team Summer to provide gifts to other children also coping with cancer. She made an effort to get to know the children and purchased thoughtful gifts to make their lives easier. Although Summer lost her battle with cancer in 2012, her legacy, her loveb of the color purple, and Team Summer live on. Many children who received gifts from Team Summer are now part of the effort to help uplift children fighting cancer. This idea of the Purple Hair Challenge came from some of Summer’s high school friends. The Riverwood students coordinated two bake sales in September and sold Raider spirit flags designed by National Art Honor Society students at home football games.
These efforts, along with private donations, garnered over $1,000 during the four-week challenge. Riverwood Visual Arts and IB Film Studies Teacher Dana Munson accompanied the students to Salon Skanda, a local salon, for the hair transformations.
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Salon Skanda provided their hair coloring services for free to the Riverwood students. In addition to the Purple Hair Challenge, Riverwood students have been actively supporting Team Summer over the years. An annual art show, featuring an auction of their best paintings, drawings, sculpture, and jewelry, consistently raises over a thousand dollars for each event for Team Summer. Learn more about Team Summer: https://teamsummer.org/
Image Courtesy of Riverwood International School
