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Sussex School students raise funds through six-hour Missoula litter cleanup
Summary
Students and parents from Sussex School in Missoula ran a six-hour “EcoThon” litter cleanup, collecting trash across neighborhoods, soliciting hourly pledges and receiving a donation from the Baker Group; organizers said the drive both raised money for school activities and taught civic responsibility.
Sussex School students and parents staged a six-hour litter cleanup in Missoula to raise money for school activities and teach students civic responsibility, organizers said.
A Sussex parent, speaking about the event, said, “this kind of thing really makes me proud of what the school does in terms of teaching citizenship.” Organizers described the fundraiser as a pledge-driven drive: volunteers solicit hourly pledges and work a six-hour shift to earn donations.
The EcoThon raised money for classroom activities and a spring trip, and speakers said the Baker Group provided a donation to support the event. Students described collecting bags of trash, cigarette butts, bottle caps, plastic straws, Styrofoam beads and even larger items such as a mattress and a discarded washing machine.
Students explained the pledge model during interviews: volunteers ask donors to commit a pledged amount per hour; the event runs six hours, so a $1 hourly pledge would total $6. One student gave 50¢ per hour as an example. A speaker in the transcript said the program raised $9,000 this year.
The program was described as part of Sussex School’s parent-cooperative model, which speakers said requires parents to contribute a set number of volunteer hours and helps keep tuition down. A speaker described the EcoThon as both an educational exercise — prompting lessons about recycling and environmental science — and a practical lesson in responsibility, saying students who spend hours picking up others’ trash are less likely to litter themselves.
Transcript comments about the event’s history were inconsistent: one speaker referred to the activity as the “fifth” such day, while another later called an activity “first annual.” The transcript does not clarify which is correct. No formal city action or permitting was reported in the discussion.
Speakers emphasized the neighborhood benefit of the cleanup and that parents and students planned to continue similar efforts. The conversation also noted that a citywide corporate-sponsored cleanup had been discussed by some participants; one speaker expressed concern that corporate sponsorship might provide publicity without addressing corporate litter sources.
Organizers and students identified the aims of the fundraiser as both raising money for school needs — including a spring trip and van costs — and reinforcing environmental stewardship among students.
