“Are you gonna make it?” This is a question my fellow student council members and I get asked on a regular basis during Charity Ball season. Although I appreciate the curiosity of my peers, the issue always makes me feel a little queasy because I’ve never been sure how accurately to respond. However, as I’ve come to experience through the full experience of Charity Ball I’ve formulated my final answer.
A lot of people look past the experience of charitable giving and influencing the Raleigh community, and only focus on the seemingly impossible number Student Council is trying to reach. However, Charity Ball is so much more than a matter of zeros on a check. The real goal of Charity Ball is to enact positive change through student-led efforts. Every day I feel the change Student Council is leading when my team and I finish a new sticker design, when I participate at IGNITE game-nights, or when I tell one of my relatives about this fantastic project. Although money is documentation of change to come, it doesn’t describe the change already happening.
The copious amount of effort and passion coming from a group of 80 kids inspires me. I look around and see the new connections I’ve made at Enloe and in the Raleigh community, and I still can’t fathom the amount of change that Charity Ball leads. Charity Ball spreads so much joy and positivity to both Enloe and IGNITE. The impact we make does not happen all at once when a check is revealed, it grows with every smile at IGNITE and every poster seen downtown. Charity Ball has already created a substantial amount of change, and, of course, there is more work to do, but we’ve ultimately succeeded in helping the community.
“Are you going to make it?” My final answer is… “We already have.”
Abby Pender
Sophomore Class President
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