MISSOULA - A group of eighth-grade students from Meadow Hill Middle School brought the community together at the Order of the Eagles on Sunday for a dinner and bake sale.
The students spent hours making a pulled pork dinner and a bunch of desserts to raise funds for a trip to Washington D.C. and New York City.
"We're doing good so far [with fundraising]. Some people are being very generous giving donations or tips and it's a lot of fun to get to see all the people and get to talk to them," Student Lily Denman shared with MTN.
Another student, Rylie Kendall said, "It means so much to me that people are willing to take this hour and a half out of their day and come and eat our food that we made."
The trip, which is planned to happen this summer, will be a culmination of all the history lessons learned in elementary and middle school. Instead of taking notes and listening to presentations, they'll get to learn by doing and feeling history while being surrounded by it — and they say that's the best way to learn about their heritage.
"I love doing hands-on learning as opposed to like on paper," Denman said. "In school we're starting to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, the Bill of Rights. We're gonna go to D.C. and we're gonna see those things, and learn more and more about it with a more hands-on way instead of sitting in a class. It leaves more of an impact on the mind."
Student Kat Romig shared that the trip will be extremely impactful.
"We're also going to the Tomb of the Fallen Soldier and which it's pretty interesting. My grandpa fought in the Vietnam War, so it's important to him all of this history, so pretty much it's important to me because it also has to do with me."
Following their tour of the capital's monuments, museums, and landmarks, they'll head over the New York City where a major point of excitement is getting to see Aladdin on Broadway.
This trip is one of a lifetime for these Meadow Hill students. They are still accepting donations on Venmo @HeritageFundRaiser.
