Color for Change: Student Council to host outdoor walk, dance called Powder for Peace on May 7 to support Ukraine

StuCo is hosting a fundraiser called Powder for Peace similar to the formerly annual Love Fund Color Run to raise money for the Heart to Heart International charity on May 7.

Powder for Peace will be an event where students walk, dance and have colored powder thrown on their clothes like previous color runs, but with a fundraising twist for Ukraine, according to senior and StuCo Vice President TongTong Yi.

“We wanted to have [an] event post-prom, pre-graduation, just one more thing for the student body to do,” Yi said. “We thought, ‘Hey if we’re throwing this event, why not put the money that we get to a good cause like Ukraine?’”

Starting at 9:45 a.m., students will walk four laps — totaling a mile — around the East track before going to the junior parking lot, where there will be a DJ playing music and StuCo members throwing blue and yellow powder on students to symbolize Ukraine’s flag. Students will pay an entry fee of $10 at the door, and all profits will go to Heart to Heart International, an Olathe-based charity that sends relief packages to Ukraine among other humanitarian work, according to StuCo sponsor Brenda Fishman.

Unlike previous color runs, StuCo will ask students to wear their own white T-shirts instead of printing shirts to give out. To further raise funds to support Ukraine, vendors — both high schoolers and local businesses — will sell items such as blue-and-yellow bracelets, T-shirts and Ukrainian baked goods in the junior lot, according to Fishman.

While the annual Color Run ended in 2019 due to the pandemic, StuCo discontinued the event due to the cost and planning required, Fishman said. Planning for the Color Run began four months prior to sort out a date and route, find driveways to set water stations in and spray paint lines three feet from the street gutter. Even after selling tickets, StuCo made no profit due to expenses like a DJ, colored powder, printing T-shirts and blocking off streets, according to Yi.

“[The Color Run] was always a big money sink,” Yi said. “Every single instance when we hosted the Color Run, we always ended up losing a bunch of money, which obviously is not the goal for something that’s trying to raise money for Ukraine.”

StuCo will use leftover powder from previous years and have students walk around the school track instead of Prairie Village streets, according to Yi. Since they don’t need to buy color, the estimated cost of the event — including the snacks and water — is $200-300, according to Fishman. StuCo is currently looking for a student volunteer to DJ the event rather than hiring a professional to further save money.

Fishman hopes to see at least 300-400 people in attendance and make a difference in the lives of Ukrainian families with entry fees and donations from the East community, while also spreading awareness to East students.

“We want the kids to have a fun time, but we also want [them] to think that we are doing this for a purpose,” Fishman said. “Unfortunately, while we’re having a good time at the end of the school year, there are other students [in Ukraine] who are probably not able to go to school, and they maybe have lost a parent or a loved one or a home.”

While StuCo had been considering doing a fundraiser for Ukraine, Fishman said that junior Michael Newbold inspired the council to plan the event when he emailed them four ideas for East to support Ukraine. His ideas consisted of a school fundraiser, collecting letters and art to send to Prairie Village’s sister city in Ukraine, establishing a sister school relationship or organizing a student diplomatic mission to Ukraine.

Fishman, along with other StuCo executives, believed a school fundraiser was the most realistic option.

Newbold emailed StuCo his proposals three weeks ago and attended the council meeting on April 13, where he suggested partnering with Dolyna, Ukraine for Powder for Peace. StuCo is currently attempting to contact the sister city through Prairie Village City Hall, according to Fishman, but hasn’t been able to reach them yet.

While Newbold has no personal connection to Ukraine, he believes supporting Ukraine is the right thing to do and will also help East students become more involved in global matters.

“As of now, most high schools, what they can do is pretty much limited to fundraising or donations of more non-fiat materials, like blankets, canned foods,” Newbold said. “I believe that if local high schools or students could just contribute what they’re willing to contribute, every bit helps.”