By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – Community support is pouring in for a Roosevelt High School student who was hit by a train Feb. 28.
“We have the classroom kind of functioning as a business right now,” RHS marketing teacher Elissa Cumiskey said of her class’ fundraiser for 14-year-old Jacob Marion. “We have students taking orders.”
Cumiskey’s classroom has become a sort of mini-T-shirt shop in the past week since her students designed a T-shirt to sell to raise money for the boy, currently in critical condition after recovering from surgery at Children’s Hospital in Detroit.
Inspired by the teen vampire drama “Twilight,” for which fans sport either “Team Jacob” or “Team Edward” T-shirts in support of their favorite of the film’s two love interests, the students printed “Team Jacob” logos on shirts donated by Accents Customer Printwear, of Lincoln Park.
Shirts cost $10 and come in sizes from 2T to 8X and in red, green, yellow, light blue, purple and pink. As of Monday, more than $4,000 had been raised from the shirts, which they intend to sell at other fundraisers for Marion, including one from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Pier 500, 507 Biddle. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door.
A wrestling match, hosted by Metro Pro Wrestling, Michigan Championship Wrestling Association and Pain Championship Wrestling, is slated for 7:30 p.m. March 31 at ARC hall, 4212 13th, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Marion’s family.
Also at RHS, students hosted a collection last week which raised $1,362.30 at three lunch periods. Senior Josie Klaiss does not know Marion but said she was still drawn to action when she heard about his injuries.
“I was shocked and I didn’t know how to react,” she said. “But when I went to school the next day, they told me they were trying to figure out what fundraisers to do.”
So she and a friend, Nikki Dorris, came up with an idea for the collection which teacher Sheryl Brna helped coordinate through emails and a Facebook page.
“The students have a spirit of community,” Brna said. “And they jumped into action.”
T-shirt orders can be placed by contacting Cumiskey at [email protected] or 734-759-5100.