Milford High School’s 2022 Charity Week was the most successful in school history, as a MHS students raised a record breaking amount of $35,107 while engaging in a series of fun events and activities. All of the proceeds were donated to the John Drypen Foundation, which provides financial support and education to families that have struggled with life-altering health events.

Milford’s charity week began Friday, May 13 and ended Friday, May 20, with fun events happening every day of the week. Beginning on Friday, students participated in “Dress like Adam Sandler” day, as well as the kick-off assembly taking place during Seminar, where students and staff took part in musical chairs, 1v1 basketball, giveaways, and a spirit wear catalog of every theme throughout the upcoming week. One highlight was Math Teacher Matt Gabbert, eating a ghost pepper, which is so hot that one has to wear gloves to even touch it. Gabbert downed the pepper in less than a minute while guzzling ranch and shoveling peanut butter into his mouth. After school, Happy Gilmore was played for students for “Film on the field”, where students brought blankets, chairs, and snacks to enjoy a movie with their friends after a long day at school.

Monday started off bright and early with the pancake breakfast in the Fieldhouse gym. Leadership students and parents helped to staff the breakfast by cooking every pancake, crepe and other breakfast item that was served, and plating meals to everyone in line. Students were dressed in PJ attire from head to toe, as well as participating in “everything but a backpack” day. This involved students bringing any sort of container or object that would hold their school belongings, besides a backpack. Students took this opportunity to show off their creativity with the absurd items brought to school, including bikes, grills, buckets, garbage cans, laundry baskets, and even a mailbox. Some of these items sparked controversy, as students began to get their items confiscated by administration, but received them back at the end of the school day. Later in the afternoon, the girls played powderpuff, with the seniors and sophomores competing against the juniors and freshman. TD’s beat the Coco Puffs 12-6, with the cheer team doing an amazing job leading them to their victory.

On Tuesday, students came dressed for nerd day, to match the theme of “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” This event took place in the CPA during 6th hour, with special guests brought in from Heritage Elementary school to compete against the high schoolers with trivia questions. The 5th graders won against the high schoolers, beating them by one point, answering the question that MHS students are actually not smarter than the 5th graders. Earlier in the day, teachers and students participated in “Spill your guts,” which involved answering burning questions from students to the teachers. If a staff member chose not to answer a question, they were given the choice to eat a disgusting mystery food hidden under a bag. After the teachers had their fair share of spilling their secrets, and their guts, they selected students from the audience to ask the burning questions. Many secrets were shared, and many were not, leaving many shocked and disgusted.

On Wednesday, Students participated in Jersey day, and represented their favorite teams and players of sports teams and colleges, and Mav Ball was held in the Fieldhouse gym during 4th and 5th hour. This dodgeball tournament served as great entertainment for the spectators, as the stakes became higher and more intense as the bracket moved along. At the finale, the Dodge Fathers took the title as Mav Ball champions after a two-hour long aggressive 17-team tournament.

Thursday was the peak of the week, with endless activities on the football field all day long. From 3rd to 6th hour, Jail N Bail allowed students to take part in hours of fun with their friends on the field, as well as lunch provided from concessions and food trucks. Some of the activities included bull riding, 9 square, the wrecking ball, inflatable racing, a gaga pit, and Principal Mr. Mckenna riding around on a hoverboard all day long. The spirit wear theme of the day was “Country vs. Country Club,” where students came dressed in their choice of either cowboy or preppy attire. In the evening, Milford students competed in the Mr. Milford pageant, which included a series of questions, a talent portion, and a “promposal”. During his talent portion, Trey Hayes retrieved a bouquet of roses and a rather large sign that read “Will you be my Mrs. Milford at prom?” to his girlfriend, Maddie Feltmate, who of course, said yes. And after an over the top performance of “Let it go” and benching an incredible 900 lbs., Wyatt Lesnew was crowned Mr. Milford, the first ever sophomore to gain the title.

To end the Charity week on Friday, Mr. Gilbert received numerous pies to the face throughout every lunch period for $2 a pop. At the final pep assembly, teachers were given devious dares from the students that were promised if enough money was raised. Spoiler, there was. MHS Vice Principal, Eric Dziobak got his ears pierced, Mr. Hipple and Mr. Gilbert have to spend a night on the roof of MHS, Mr. Wank has to shave his beard, Mrs. Eby kissed a pig, many teachers got pied, and Ms. Flynn brought in her dog, Frank. On top of that, the students and teachers will be switching their roles, and the students will teach the staff. The seniors were champs of tug-of-war, the Dodge Fathers beat the teachers in their final game of Mav Ball, and a pom routine as well as a rap of “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” were performed live. At the end of the assembly, Mrs. Drypen gave a heartfelt speech regarding the foundation and donations, and how the funds will be of help to many people.

The week was an overall blast, and students couldn’t agree more. Senior, Karli Fahey, shared some of her favorite moments. “My favorite part was definitely Mr. Milford because it was really funny and Wyatt made history. I also liked everything but a backpack because people got really creative and also “Jail n Bail” because I got to be outside all day.” Junior, Meggie Martin shared, “I thought it was really fun to be able to connect with the school on the football field outside and I thought the spirit days were pretty different from what we’ve done in the past. And Mav Ball has always fun because it’s just entertaining to watch.” Students and staff had loads of fun this week, and can’t wait to see what next year has in store. Mr. Gilbert played a huge part in organizing this years charity week, along with his leadership students who helped with planning and setting up for the entire week. Gilbert shared, “ This year was special as we were able to tie in our charity to two students who battled significant health related events. I loved being able to support a local charity that has helped a few of our own. Overall, I couldn’t be prouder of our students, staff, and MHS community.” Leadership student, Maddie Feltmate, shared, “ This years charity week definitely paved the way for future years because everyone loved the week and saw that participating was such an awesome way to end the year. It brought the school together and I could not have imagined a better week!” By the end of Charity week, a grand and record breaking total of $35,107 were raised by the Milford community, all proceeds going to the John Drypen Foundation. Although the week was packed with endless fun and activities for the students, the funds raised will make a huge impact on the families in our community and provide support to those in need.