Menchies has now sold their delicious frozen yogurt every other Monday in partnership with Student Service board.
The revenue, unlike that raised for New Trier clubs or sporting equipment, is donated to the Christopher Motes scholarship fund, something closer to the hearts of many members of the community.
In 2009, New Trier student Christopher Motes was tragically murdered by his stepfather. His mother was also killed in the incident. Motes’ death rocked the school, especially because he was a member of the special education program at New Trier.
In honor of his memory, a scholarship was started for other special needs students. The scholarship also helps fund further research for special needs education.
Unfortunately, the scholarships founder and major donor, who chose to remain anonymous, was unable to continue. This didn’t deter Paige Carney, a secretary for New Trier’s special needs program, from continuing the scholarship.
“They came to me and said they couldn’t fund it anymore. And I didn’t want it to go away, so I came to peer helping and asked if they wanted to help me keep it going. And they said of course,” said Carney.
But they still needed a way to raise money. “We needed something different. We’d had a wellness fair earlier in the year, and we had invited Menchie’s to come, and that was very successful, Menchie’s loved it and wanted to come every other week, so we decided we would use that money to fund the scholarship program,” said Carney.
Menchies frozen yogurt can be purchased during lunch periods from peer helping members on certain schooldays.