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Forest Hills Northern graduates pay it forward to their school and Kids' Food Basket

Posted at 6:29 AM, Aug 21, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-21 06:29:26-04

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Instead of celebrating with an end of the year party, some 2020 graduates are paying it forward during the pandemic.

The senior class at Forest Hills Northern had been raising money all year for their all-nighter, but like so many things this year it had to be canceled because of COVID-19.

But instead of issuing refunds to each of the students, the class decided to give back to those in their community.

They donated about $2,000 to Kid's Food Basket and gave $17,000 right back to their own school.

"We thought it'd be a really nice thing if we were able to donate money to the school so that they were able to like buy more Chromebooks and provide more students with opportunities to learn from home," said Josh Goldberg, a Forest Hills Northern senior. "We really thought that that was a really nice thing we can do with our money, to help support our Northern community and the awesome school we came from."

"I think this was definitely a better way to spend that money,"said Claudia Van Valkenburg, also a 2020 graduate. "Obviously, a party would have been fun, but I think it's great to see that money go to a good cause instead.

The donations were both presented to Kids' Food Basket and the school on Wednesday.