By EVAN ROBINSON-JOHNSON, reporter for Jackson Hole News & Guide
A high school car wash fundraiser in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA, to support the stipend of a Ntsika Secondary School math and science teacher earned R39 000 ($2,440) in cash on Friday 6 May, with more donations expected through an online Venmo link.
The funds directly support Fundisile Mgoqi, a volunteer maths and science teacher at Ntsika Senior Secondary School, who currently receives a stipend from the school.
Jackson teens met with Ntsika students on Zoom before planning the fundraiser to learn more about life in the township. They also competed in an international dance battle where Ntsika’s Solomon Johnson unequivocally proved that South Africans have the better moves.
Julia Heemstra, who lives in Jackson Hole, has raised funds for a water and sanitation project at Ntsika over the past few years. She was also part of the team that set up the connection that has inspired students in Jackson Hole to raise funds for Mgoqi.
“The reality is that we’re all the same,” Heemstra said. “Whether you’re growing up in your township or here in Teton County, you have the same desires and aspirations.”
Ntsika principal Madeliene Schoeman said Heemstra’s enthusiasm and energy were “contagious”.
“As can be seen from the Jackson Hole students’ efforts. Ntsika is privileged to be part of this project that sees learners from very diverse backgrounds coming together, albeit over Zoom. It’s always good to see people realise that they share dreams and aspirations and challenges, even when some of us fall short on Solomon Johnson’s dancing prowess!”
The Interact Club vice president was surprisingly effective in rallying members and friends to the fundraising effort, like junior Naomi Roper, who isn’t part of Interact but said as a member of Key Club, she felt a similar calling to help others. “They just said they needed more help, and I was like, ‘I’m free Friday,'” Roper said.
It helped that the car wash was held on a Flex Friday, the district’s reserved days for special instruction, teacher in-service and athletics.
Junior Isaac Larson was hard at work drying off a sheriff’s deputy SUV around 2 pm when a gasp went through his ranks. Snaking his way through the parade of Subaru Outbacks was Larson’s grandfather, Bob Scott, who rolled up in a TCSD school bus.
Without hesitation, the students set to work with suds and spray, not letting the daunting challenge or the afternoon’s biting wind dampen their spirits.
Partially because of the pandemic, Interact hasn’t mobilised much in recent years. There was a clothing drive for the Wind River Reservation and a colour run that got cancelled. Some of the students said they joined the club — the high school arm of the Rotary Club — primarily because of its scholarship opportunities. But Friday’s fundraiser served as something they could finally all rally around.
Interact president David Danby said he was “psyched” to get to know the South African students a bit because it gave their efforts greater meaning. “We take a lot for granted here,” he said.
Senior Rachel Noyce said she could relate to the Ntsika students’ interest in math and science as someone planning to pursue medical school after playing college basketball. “We get to help them pursue their careers and dreams,” she said.
Larson, running for Interact club president next year, used his videography skills to shoot a promo and build a website for the fundraiser, where community members can learn more about Ntsika’s teachers and students and contribute funds even after the one-time car wash.
The goal was to raise R127 000 ($8,000), a year’s stipend for Mgoqi, but Heemstra said additional dollars would help support him for years to come.
Rotary Club members pledged a R44 500 ($2,800) match to the students’ fundraiser, available online at TinyURL.com/ntsikafundraiser. The students themselves contributed R23 800 ($1,500) from Interact’s annual budget. Ace Hardware and Jackson Hole Marketplace have also pitched in.
