Athens holds successful "Community Week" event

ATHENS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL HOLDS SUCCESSFUL “COMMUNITY WEEK” AMID PANDEMIC

To pivot in the pandemic, Athens High School Student Council recently created “Athens Community Week,” sponsoring a spirit week along with a few events to raise money for a charity suggested by the student body and picked by student council leaders. As a result, Alex’s Saints Foundation, a fledgling Troy charity named in memory of a former Athens student, was the beneficiary of $2,500 raised online.

Junior and executive secretary Jordan Doyle pointed out the challenges of offering activities this year. “While it was impossible to put on Charity Week this year, we did not want to lose an important piece of Athens’ culture—how we come together as a school and a community each year to make the world outside the walls of Athens High School a little bit better,” Doyle said. “We brainstormed how to honor this piece of our culture in a responsible and safe way.”

Doyle added, “This year has reminded us of the importance of our community, and we wanted to celebrate and support our local community.”

Junior and executive treasurer Lilly Chrisopoulos stated the council kept safety protocols in mind during the planning phase. “We spent a lot of time trying to make activities fun and easy to participate in while abiding to Covid-19 restrictions,” Chrisopoulos said. “At the end of the week I was really thrilled to find out we raised so much.”

A main event offered by student council was “Flock your Friends,” where students and families donated to a have a flock of flamingos displayed on their yard for a day. Another event was Teacher Cameos, where students paid to have a teacher share or send a video message. In addition, first hour classes competed to raise money to earn an asynchronous class period.

Moreover, council members conducted an online raffle with gift card packages purchased from local businesses. Finally, classmates were encouraged to share pictures according to each spirit day, which varied from recommending a movie to posting a picture of a pet.

“The final total made me absolutely ecstatic,” senior and executive first vice president Justin Esdale said. “However, the result is about more than the numbers, it’s about the fact that we were able to design this entire week without any precedent.”

According to the organization’s website, the mission of Alex’s Saints Foundation is “to provide life-changing emotional and financial assistance to young adults and their families, who struggle with addiction, while empowering long term recovery.”

Chairman and Founder Tyler Bettelon, a 2013 Athens graduate and classmate of Alex St. Pierre, established Alex’s Saints Foundation in May 2020 in memory of his friend.

“We started this organization in honor of our best friend and former Athens student, Alex St. Pierre, who was taken away from us the day before his 25th birthday due to an accidental drug overdose,” Bettelon said.

Bettelon stressed that it is important to bring awareness to the current opioid epidemic, especially during the pandemic. According to Bettelon, overdose deaths are up over 20% since the pandemic started, and thus it is vital to always check up with loved ones and to support them.

Senior and Executive President Michael Awwad was pleased that the week was organized to help others in need, and as a way for the senior class to be involved in a final charitable event.

“Raising money for Alex’s Saints Foundation was very important because in a time where mental health is more important now than ever before, unfortunately addiction is a path that people turn to,” Awwad said. “To be able to raise awareness and provide support to such a cause is vital during these times, as well as supporting our local businesses and bringing the community together.”

Senior and executive second vice president Sydney Kott agreed.

“This has been such a crazy year, and I knew that it was a blessing we were able to do anything,” Kott said. “I know Alex's Saints Foundation will be able to do great things with the money raised. The week also helped raise awareness for locally owned businesses in our area, which makes me very happy that we got people interested in these businesses.”

"Knowing that Charity Week would not happen, our kids still found a way to help our community,” student council co-adviser Dina Chrisopoulos said. “As always, I am so proud to be a part of such a great group of students who decided to support a local charity which is in honor of one of our former students."

“I am honored to work with this year’s council to help them forge ahead to find a way to lead and serve,” student council co-adviser Shawn DuFresne added. “The kids have been so resilient and positive throughout the year. They kept all options open and focused on what they could control.”

Bettelon emphasized his organization is humbled by the support of the Athens community.

“We are incredibly grateful to be chosen as the charity for Community Week,” Bettelon said. “As an alumni, it is truly humbling to be part of this tremendous week at Athens.”

For more information on Alex’s Saints Foundation, visit their website: https://alexssaints.org/

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Photos courtesy of Troy Schools:

--Athens High School student council representatives Erin Swartz, junior (left), and Jessica Jansen, freshman, share a flock of flamingos planted in a student’s yard as a fundraiser for the school’s Community Week held recently.

--The sign accompanying the flock of flamingos as a fundraiser for Athens High School Community Week.