Minnetonka High School held its annual Heart Week fundraiser from February 8-19. During the two-week event, students and staff at MHS had the opportunity to participate in a number of fun activities and events, all contributing to an overall goal of giving back to the community by raising money for Minnetonka Family Friends.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and hybrid learning model for students, Heart Week looked different this year compared to years past. For the students and faculty organizing the fundraiser, this involved a complete rethinking of many of the events typically offered throughout the week.
"We had to get really creative this year," explained senior Bryn Senske, who serves as student body president at MHS. "It took a lot of brainstorming, emails and meetings to figure out what we could do." Student Government worked together innovatively to plan Heart Week activities that would follow safety guidelines and still have a similar spirit to the events of years past, despite this year's changes.
Perhaps the most notable change this year is the fact that the event lasted not one week, but two. This way, hybrid students who are only on campus for half the time would still have the opportunity to participate in all the in-person activities associated with the "weeklong" event.
At school, students were invited to wear pajamas, tropical shirts and jerseys for themed dress-up days, buy "crush" cans and roses for friends in their classes and donate to participate in various activities such as broomball, spikeball and a movie night as part of "Friday Fest." As during previous years, students could also donate on behalf of their second hour class, with prizes offered to the classes that raised the most.
Outside of school, events like the Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction were updated to a virtual format, and the Flag Football tournament was offered with mask and social distancing requirements in place. Additionally, a brand new event, called the Sweetheart Shuffle, was created that offered a chance to participate in a virtual or in-person 5k in place of the Sweethearts Dance.
Most importantly, the core goals of the Heart Week remained the same: to give back to the community through raising funds for Minnetonka Family Friends. Over the course of the two weeks, a total of $18,000 was raised.This money will be used by the nonprofit to provide Minnetonka families with resources and supplies to meet their educational and personal needs.
"I think that, given the circumstances, Heart Week was a massive success," Bryn said. "I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated and to all of the staff who helped us out. This week could not happen or work as smoothly as it does without support from the community."
