Jack Orchard Day at Wydown Middle School
By Mike Bush
Copyright 2008 KSDK
(KSDK) -- Last month, NewsChannel 5 brought you the story of Jack Orchard, a local man living with ALS and using the time he has left to raise awareness and educate others about the disease.
Jack's charity, Extra Hands for ALS, gives high school and college students the opportunity to help families dealing with disease. After the story aired, his network of volunteers not only expanded, but grew younger.
It was not just any old Thursday at Wydown Middle School in Clayton. Today is Jack Orchard Day, a celebration that got its start thanks to the initiative of Andrea Hermann, 14.
"Everybody talks about charities like AIDs or Race for the Cure, and this one doesn't have that much stuff out there, doesn't have that much publicity, so I thought it would be really cool to bring it around here," says Hermann.
On this very special day, students were able to buy rubber bracelets for a dollar and pay 50 cents to wear their favorite hat.
"Well, my dad went to Las Vegas and came back with this hat. So I've worn it since fifth grade, it's really fun," says sixth grader Mo Mills.
"Since it was hat day and for a cause, I decided to wear just a green funky hat," says eighth grader Ali Planels. "It's one day until Spring Break, why not wear a hat when it's going to charity?"
Proceeds benefit Extra Hands for ALS, a charity started by Jack Orchard, 40. He's not only an ALS patient, he's the inspiration for Thursday's gathering. Though the disease has robbed him of the ability to speak, technology and a caregiver help him communicate with students, like eighth grader Allyson Sanders.
"It's really special, I was scared at first, because I thought that seeing him would kind of scare me, but after seeing him I understand that he's going through a lot," says Sanders.
Guidance Counselor Lynn McGraw says raising money for Orchard's charity gives these young people a purpose, and the opportunity to make a difference.
"Andrea was so inspired by him, that he was going to take this and work with it and really have a purpose in his life that would carry on, and I was inspired by Andrea and so were the kids at Wydown," says McGraw.
"It just think it's so interesting that he's got such a positive outlook on life," says Hermann. "Because he's got this horrible disease and it's amazing that he's doing all this, and he wrote a book, he's got the whole charity thing going and he's just happy all day and that's really great."
Students collected several hundred dollars for Extra Hands. They also raised interest about the 5k Race and Party to Fight ALS on May 3, 2008.
Volunteering With Extra Hands
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