News : Puppy party! VSHS NHS campaign raises $950 for animal shelter

The members of the Vinton-Shellsburg National Honor Society have done a spring fund-raiser for a local group every year but this year the NHS members tried something different to inspire even more participation. "We decided to revamp things this year and offer a Doughnut Puppy Party in the Gazebo," said NHS President Ben Hyland. "The name kind of sells itself, and so when the advisor groups heard about it, things got competitive." Mrs Sandau's advisor--the winning group, raised over $220 by themselves, bringing over 100 dollars in on the last day of the competition. In all, we raised $950 for the animal shelter. The top advisor donor groups were Mrs. Sandau, Mrs. Lash and Mrs. Wesley. To celebrate, the NHS held a "Puppy Party" for the top three groups at the high school on Thursday, May 15th with Julie Havran and Donita Casey of the Vinton Animal Shelter. Havran and Casey brought some shelter animals to play with and the winning group of kids will be hanging out with them during the advisor period and eating donuts with the shelter animals. Student Ashley McKenna also brought her big lab/shepherd mix Toby and some kittens for the students to see. This event capped off one of the most successful years in the recent history of the VSHS National Honor Society, said Hyland. "We were able to make one of the largest donations to the food pantry ever, we raised more scholarship money than ever before, and we also accomplished a lot of other 'firsts.'" he said. See more photos of the Puppy Party HERE.