A Piece of Pie: The Story of Somerville High School
Somerville High School staff and students, pictured above, after being pied in the face by members of the student body.
One of my favorite parts of Dressember is the sheer creative genius of so many advocates! From costumes to eye-catching photos, the global Dressember squad has become quite the experts at using unique, quirky, and lighthearted ways to advocate for freedom.
Somerville High School is no exception!
If you follow Dressember on Instagram, you may remember Somerville High School as the student body that pied their teachers, faculty, and fellow classmates at a pep rally after achieving their whopping fundraising goal of $1,500!
Pie kid you not.
The mastermind behind the pep rally was Somerville High’s women’s studies teacher, Heather Kennedy. Heather has been teaching women’s studies for ten years and began researching the issue of human trafficking about eight years ago. Teaching the issue is her avenue of raising awareness.
Teacher, Heather Kennedy, pictured in the middle, has incorporated the issue of human trafficking into her classroom curriculum.
“I feel it is imperative for high school students to be aware of the heinous activities in their world. For many of my students, taking my class is their first experience with the topic and one I try to bring to light by the end of the school year,” Heather said.
For the past two years, part of bringing the issue to light has been Somerville High School’s advocacy with Dressember. Last year, they collectively raised $641 during Dressember and this year they were determined to top that.
Heather noted, “I felt I had to come up with something creative to get the buzz going around the building.”
She certainly did. After an administrator at Somerville jokingly noted that they would take a pie to the face if Heather and her students could raise $1000, Heather knew exactly what would get the ball rolling.
She designed a competition to raise awareness about the dark and harmful nature of human trafficking. If students could raise $1,500, then they would be able to pie each other and their teachers at one of their school’s pep rallies - quite the incentive!
In just four days, Somerville High School raised over $1,600, which culminated in an epic, messy, and pie-tastic pep rally in their high school’s auditorium. Pieing is always fun. Pieing for freedom? That certainly takes the...pie.
Not only did they raise money, they also raised awareness. Heather’s team of students worked tirelessly to spread the word about the issue and the solution, emerging as young and powerful freedom fighters.
“One of my students, Ellen, completely emerged as a human advocate.” Heather said. “Ellen shook down every student, teacher and staff member for days and even went to the local mall for additional donations. She came to me and told me how amazing this involvement made her feel.”
The $1,600 raised by Somerville was a group effort achieved by the passion, creativity, and heart of many! The team at Somerville High School shows what a powerful impact you can have with a little style and whole lot of pie.
Way to go, Somerville High School! Shout out to Heather and her powerful, world-changing students! You all are sweet as pie!
XO
About the Author
Torie Pfau is a tiny person with big dreams. She is in her freshman year of college and is excited about where this new adventure will lead. She loves telling stories, trying new recipes, and exploring the world.