(Publisher’s note: This is one of a number of stories wrapping up the 2013-14 school year.)
By Lisa Carolin
Staying up late and sleeping outside in a box for one night is certainly not like being homeless, but for the Interact Club of Chelsea High School, it does offer a little bit of insight into the plight of the homeless.
That and fundraising for the Ozone House were behind the annual Box-O-Rama that Interact Club members along with the club’s faculty advisor Laura Lutz participated in last month.
“For the members, this is a fun night of staying up late on a school night with friends, but when the weather gets bad and they are uncomfortable, the talk turns to how it is a choice for them to be outside,” said Lutz, who is also a social studies teacher at the high school.
“Last year, our event was rescheduled, then cancelled due to bad weather on both nights,” said Lutz. “That made an impression because we made a choice to avoid the cold or thunderstorms, whereas others do not have that luxury.”
She believes that having members of the club spend the night in boxes does make an impression on other high school students.
“When students drive in the following morning, they often see our boxes out in front of the school which generates discussion,” said Lutz.
This year, nine students along with Lutz participated in the event.
They are pictured above from left to right: Laura Lutz, Mary Zoran, Katie Lear, Colleen McDevitt, Josie Elordi, Jenny Gabbard, Drew Deppner, Carter Engler, Will Stubbs and Dustin Beckett.
