Students "pie" each other after successful fundraiser

Flying Pies Culminate Successful Fundraiser at Innovation Tech

April 17, 2023

The “Shave Dave” project at Innovation Tech culminated on April 14 with a great sense of pride about how much the school had raised — $1,021 — to support long-time Facilitator Dave Sampson and his annual effort to fight childhood cancer through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

It also culminated with some trepidation.

That’s because some students were on the losing end of the school’s fundraising competition, a loss that resulted in each of them getting a whipped-cream pie smashed into their face by a member of the winning team.

Students in Facilitator Martha FitzPartick’s family group raised the most money and earned the most points, so they happily pushed pies into the faces of Facilitator Alex Starr-Baier’s family group. Students on the receiving end wore garbage bags to keep the whipped cream off their clothes. Some squinted their eyes and squeezed their lips shut, but others leaned into it. They laughed and cheered after getting a face full of whipped cream.

“Our seniors were in charge of setting rules, making jars, advertising within the school, counting money, and keeping track of the leaderboard in their Financial Literacy class,” FitzPartrick said. “It was great to see all students participate in the event and donate money to support Mr. Sampson’s goal of $1,000.”

Principal Trista Brundage said  it was “a great community-building event for an important cause.”

“I am proud of our students and staff for coming together to support Mr. Sampson and St. Baldrick’s,” she said.

Luckily, it was a beautiful sunny day, and unseasonably warm. Students who got smashed with pies cleaned up quickly, and everyone enjoyed an ice cream or popsicle treat to wrap up the event.

VIDEO: Catch the pie-smashing action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9YFjU5Y7Wg