Prairie Ridge Musical Raises $6,500 For Hurricane Victims

From Community High School District 155: Prairie Ridge High School students and the community helped those who are suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria which struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. Spanish National Honors Society (SNHS), the Musical cast and crew, and Diversify club raised nearly $6,500 to give to the people of Puerto Rico to help get them on their feet. Students competed in “penny wars” during world language classes, carried milk jugs around the school for students to put loose change in, and created a #PR4PR video to promote the donate campaign.

Funds will be donated to the Hispanic Federation, Unidos. It is a disaster relief and recovery program, to serve the needs of families and communities of Puerto Rico.

“We are so proud of our students for making this happen and really doing something that can hopefully make a difference in the lives of people in Puerto Rico who are still struggling to overcome the effects of Hurricane María,” said Kristin Lee, SNHS supervisor and Spanish teacher.

In the Heights was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and it is set in Washington Heights, New York which is a Hispanic-American neighborhood. The musical is meant to teach its audience about the culture and help understand what it is like to be Hispanic in America. Prairie Ridge decided to produce In the Heights for their yearly musical, to teach the students about the Hispanic culture. It was also an insight to encourage donations for Puerto Rico.

The cast and crew performed the musical six times and before each show began, the promotional video was played for the audience. Pictures and videos showed the damage in Puerto Rico, while students spoke in Spanish and English about reasons why people should donate. During intermissions, SNHS students and the Diversify club collected money from the audience.

“Both the company of the musical and the members of SNHS, as well as everyone that donated from their world language classes, were so supportive and willing to help in any way that they could, and they all had fun doing it. It makes me so happy and proud to know that we brought all of our talents and efforts together to help give back in a new and exciting way,” said Julia Alvey, SNHS President and was one of the roles in the musical.

The hashtag #PR4PR sprouted quickly to advocate donations for Puerto Rico, along with advertising the musical.

Image and video courtesy of Community High School District 155