MOOSEHEART – Like children all over the country, Mooseheart’s students have been looking for ways to raise funds to help children in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

And one of the tastiest solutions came from the students in the school’s Home Economics class: a massive cupcake sale.

“It came together really quickly,” Mooseheart Home Economics teacher Mandy Marks said. Marks said communication at various levels in the school led to the students getting an OK to make lots and lots of cupcakes – close to 500 in fact.

“My students spent all day making cupcakes,” Marks said.

That one-day effort was followed by door-to-door sales of those desserts across campus and in the headquarters building of the Moose Fraternity. By the end of the sales blitz, nearly all the cupcakes were gone and more than $460 was raised in what was a fundraiser for Mooseheart’s middle school students.

“There were just a few that went to the middle schoolers as a reward for all their hard work,” Marks said. “But almost all of them sold.”

Marks said the effort was perfect for a class of students “who love to be in the kitchen. Any time they can be in the kitchen making something, that excites them. But they knew it was for a good cause.”

Marks instructs students in the Family and Consumer Science vocation. Each of the vocations is likely to put together a fundraiser to support Haitian earthquake relief. This might mean a bake sale involving high schoolers – or all Home Economics students, could take place.

“I love the idea of helping out,” Marks said. “I’m all for that.”

MOOSEHEART CHILD CITY & SCHOOL is a community and school for children and teens in need, located on a 1,000-acre campus, 38 miles west of Chicago.  Over its 97-year history, Mooseheart has been home to nearly 12,000 young people, ranging in age from infancy through high school.

Mooseheart provides complete home care, education and training for youth whose families are unable, for a wide variety of reasons, to care for them. Some have lost one or both parents; others are living in environments that are simply not conducive to healthy growth and development.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S. , Canada , Great Britain and Bermuda . Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 230 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville , FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.mooseintl.org, www.mooseheart.org., www.moosehaven.org, or call 630-966-2229.