For the first time ever, seniors got to design their parking spot with chalk to support the House of Harvest charity event on Sunday, Aug. 20. The idea started with senior Katie Word and her best friend Lindsay Garcia.

  “We have wanted to do it since we were freshmen. We weren’t sure if we would be able to do it since it hadn’t been approved in the past but we thought that we should ask since we got new administration,” Word said.

  Word said she got the idea from other schools that have been doing it for years. When she asked assistant principal Christopher Shumaker about the idea, he brought it up to principal Todd Dreifort and strongly supported the decision to turn it into a charity event for House of Harvest.

  “I think it’s a great idea, I know other schools that do it. I think it’s great for seniors to have ownership of their spot and personalize it and be creative and show their imagination. And the ultimate goal is to just be around your friends, fellowship, hang out and socialize,” Shumaker said.

  House of Harvest is a locally owned and operated charity event started by Sparkman Middle School teacher Jenifer Walker. The charity started in the extremely cold winter of 2015 when Jenn noticed that students were dependent on the food cabinet in her classroom. She went into action and started House of Harvest with the help of other teachers and students, lasting about five months. 

  “The money needed to go somewhere, so he turned it into a charity event, and a local charity at that, House of Harvest is local. And not just some larger charity where you’re not sure what your moneys going towards, And so that was his idea, to turn it into a charity thing,” Shumaker said.

   Both Word and Shumaker agree that if it happens again next year it could be even bigger and better. Shumaker gave some ideas like food trucks and music to attract more seniors to participate next year. But for the first time, they were able to donate over $600 to House of Harvest.

  “I was so happy that the event was able to happen and the seniors were able to come together as a group and have fun outside of school. I hope that we can make many more traditions throughout the year to add to Sparkman,” Word said.