My first accomplishment as a national queen was to host a hat drive at my school for the Hats Off For Cancer Organization. I contacted Dennis Lawrence and he gave me all of the important information I needed to get started. He even sent me a checklist for the event. I talked to my guidance counselor, Ms. Morawick, about hosting the hat drive at our school. She loved and supported the idea. She suggested that we wait to host the hat drive until Red Ribbon Week, which was the second week in October. This was after Mad Hatters Day but Mr. Lawrence said it would be fine. To promote my hat drive I made posters to hang around the school and I made a few announcements in the cafeteria. Our principal even agreed to call the day, Crazy Hat Day, a day when teachers and students would be allowed to wear their craziest hats. When our Mad Hatter Day, otherwise known as Crazy Hat Day occurred, students and teachers brought in so many hats, they filled 9 big green garbage bags. It was great to see all the crazy hats people wore to school. It was a fun day! After school, my sister and I sorted all of the hats into two groups - the new hats, and the gently worn hats. We put the new hats in plastic bags and donated them to cancer patients. The “gently worn” hats were donated to the Salvation Army. In total we collected almost 700 hats. I enjoyed this event because I was able to combine my love for volunteering with my student council responsibilities while building school spirit. Why don’t you consider hosting a Mad Hatters Day at your school?
