With Hurricane Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Katie each making landfall this August and September, millions of residents have been displaced from their homes and billions of dollars in damage remain. Although the Pleasant Valley Community School District is thousands of miles away from the devastation, students took it upon themselves to help out. Students from all the district’s schools brainstormed ways to help Team Rubicon, an organization founded by Pleasant Valley alumnus Jake Wood.

Team Rubicon, a veteran service organization formed on January 12, 2010 following the earthquake in Haiti, aims to give veterans a chance to continue their service after their time in the military. Jake Wood and his partner William McNulty began with a team of eight seven years ago and the team now has over 60,000 volunteers currently providing assistance in Texas. With the motto, “Disasters are our business. Veterans are our passion,” Team Rubicon has given a new purpose to those retired from the military, and PV students were inspired to get involved.

At every elementary, students, staff, and parents were challenged to raise one dollar for each student attending the school and teachers had a “Special Jeans Day” in exchange for donating $5. At the junior high, students had the opportunity to purchase donuts from HyVee before school and hold a class fundraising competition. The winning classroom received a pizza party and over $1,000 was raised. High school organizations such as National Honor Society, Drama Club, and Spartan Assembly all teamed up and collected $1,200 of donations on September 8th at the football game. Emma Horsfield, a senior involved with Team Rubicon’s efforts, states, “It was heartbreaking hearing about the disasters but it was empowering to be able to help from home.”The PV Bistro, run by the special needs high school students, served delicious meals to the staff in exchange for donations as well. These student groups all attended the school board meeting on September 25th and presented a $10,000 check to Chris Wood, mother of Jake Wood, who was overcome with emotions and proud to acknowledge this donation on behalf of her son. Senior Keshav Wagle, another involved student, states, “It’s a great cause and I’m glad that I was able to make such a positive difference.”