• Dec. 20, 2019

    Fort Couch Reach Out raises over $20,000

    Reach Out Fort Couch Middle School students raised a record-breaking $20,112.90 through its annual Reach Out campaign that spanned from Dec. 9 through Dec. 20, 2019. The total was announced at an all-school assembly that also featured performances by the school’s band, orchestra, chorus and auxiliary. 

    Monies were raised through personal and business contributions, earned through completing chores or jobs for others, as well as through organized events such as hot cocoa stands or holiday caroling. The Fort Couch team that raised the most money earned a trip to Ice Castle skating rink. This year’s winner is Team 2.

    The effort is spearheaded by the Fort Couch Student Council and its sponsor, Ms. Katie Calano, with support from the school’s administration, teachers and PTSO.  

    This is the most ever raised by the Reach Out event. Ms. Erin Peterson, assistant principal, attributes this year’s success to the students’ personal connection with one of the designated organizations – Light in my City – which was founded by Baker Elementary teacher and fourth grade Yo-Yo Club sponsor Mr. Erik Wiesemann.  

    The monies raised will be divided among four worthy causes: 

    • Light in my City
      Light in my City supplies lanterns and efficient high-powered flashlights to the homeless population in Pittsburgh, providing them with light, dignity and safety. Eton lanterns, Gear Light flashlights, and luminAID Solar lanterns are delivered to homeless encampments under bridges, in hard to reach secluded areas, near rivers, alleys, and anywhere else our homeless friends call home. Fort Couch’s donation to Light in my City will be matched 100 percent by Noble Environmental. 
    • Giant Eagle Gift Cards to Upper St Clair Township Police Department
      Each year Reach Out donates $5,000 in Giant Eagle gift cards to the Upper St. Clair Police Department. Police officers then hand deliver these gift cards to families in Upper St. Clair who need a little extra help during holiday season. 
    • Bike MS: Escape to the Lake 2020
      Bike MS: Escape to the Lake 2020 is a fundraising event for Multiple Sclerosis research that involves more than 1,500 people cycling from north of Pittsburgh to Lake Erie over the span of two days and 150 miles. Fort Couch has a team of teachers, parents, friends, and, occasionally, students from across the district who train all spring while also raising as much money as possible in support of MS research. 
    • Hope for Haiti
      Each year Fort Couch students team up with the Yahve-Jire Children's Foundation to collect and deliver much needed supplies to children in a small village outside of Port-au Prince, Haiti. The YJCF runs a small orphanage, a school with 60 students in grades K-5, and serves many other children in the town of Croix-des-Bouquets.