MHS seniors participating in the United Way fundraiser competed to raise the most money this week. The winner will be announced at the assembly on Friday afternoon, Nov. 2.

United Way is a non-profit organization that supports the quality of life dealing with education, financial stability and health within communities.

Abigail Ferritto is a co-adviser of the United Way fundraiser this year. She said, “We have three groups participating in the fundraiser this year and we’re very excited!”

These three groups include: “Toy Story,” “Monsters Inc.” and Christmas.

Senior Bridget Kirby is participating in the “Monsters Inc.” celebrity group. She said, “I’m dressing up as Celia, Vladis Alimova is Mike Wazowski, Krista Rice is Roz, Katelyn Kinczel is Sulley, and Elizabeth Corpus is Boo.”

The “Toy Story” group includes Maria Regas, Michael Carlson, Kristen Brunton, Dillon Rossi, Domenic Fontana, Abby Withrow, Hannah Bright, Eve Kaufman, JoAnne Betley, Shannon McGill, Carli DiNardo, and Alec Muskara.

Regas, a member of the “Toy Story” group came to school on Monday with plenty of treats to sell. She said, “We’re thinking of selling some breakfast foods before school, as well as snacks such as Skinny Pop and fruit snacks during and after school.”

The United Way fundraiser gives seniors the opportunity to spend time with their friends in their last year of high school which makes United Way even more fun. Alimova said, “It’s really fun to be able to participate with my friends because we get to get together, get all the food to sell and we get to spread joy and raise money for a good cause in our senior year.”

Senior Bailey Ross is a member of the Christmas group. She said, “My United Way group consists of Anna Wallace, Carmen and Nicole DiCicco, Jessica Craker, Allie Newlove, Juls Consolo, Cassie Lewis and I.”

The purpose of the United Way fundraiser is to raise money to help others in need. Kirby said, “The goal for our group is to reach $800 but the absolute lowest we would settle to make would be $300. We want to raise as much as we possibly can.”

The Christmas group also sold many different goods to raise money. Ross said, “My group has been selling mostly freshly baked goods such as brownies, cookies, puppy chow and other snacks such as donuts and chips!”

The “Toy Story” group also has a goal to reach. Regas said, “Our goal as a group is to make $700 or more.”

Selling food and other goods isn’t just for fun or charity, it also keeps students awake in the mornings. Kirby said, “Our group is selling McDonald’s hash browns and donuts for breakfast so students won’t be as hungry in the morning; [and we’ll sell] homemade cookies because homemade cookies are the best! We are also selling some other foods such as donuts, mini muffins, caramel corn and candy on Halloween as well as mini water bottles!”

Groups such as the “Monsters Inc.” team have spent time in preparation for this week of fundraising. Kirby said, “We all got together over the weekend to figure out what we were buying and selling, we put all of it together and we also worked on the music for the assembly.”

On Monday, Oct. 29, senior celebrity groups began to sell their items in the morning before homeroom and continued to sell all throughout the week, finally ending their sales on Thursday.