Riverside students raise funds for multiple sclerosis research, education

May 11—Students in Riverside High School's National Honor Society raised $4,000 during the 2022-23 school year for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a decision that their adviser said was "a tribute to the challenges" faced by one of their teachers.

This was the first year that the entire NHS chapter worked to support a single organization, said Riverside NHS adviser and English teacher Christina Sherwood. They chose NMSS because Riverside social studies teacher Chris Bouffard battles multiple sclerosis.

"They want to do something to help as many people as they can, but it has more of a personal impact on them because they know him," Sherwood said.

The student leadership team presented the check on April 27 to Kelly Schneider, development manager for NMSS fundraising group Bike MS.

Riverside NHS President Emily White noted at the presentation that the school has "amazing staff" and that Bouffard "continues to make an impact on the school living with multiple sclerosis."

Bouffard said that he knew the students would make the donation, but he wasn't aware until the check presentation that they did so because of him.

"It caught me off guard, blew me away, touched me," he said. "With all the kids that participated, I had all but two in class."

Bouffard said he has viewed MS as a "teaching tool" since his 2016 diagnosis.

"I can use my obstacles and hurdles in life to be an example," he said, adding that students can see that he is teaching, coaching and parenting despite his battle with the disease.

"There's a thing that you see in the MS community that, yeah, I have MS, but MS doesn't have me," Bouffard added.

Schneider said the symptoms of MS can range from person to person, including those who are "silently dealing" with the disease and others who lose mobility.

"There's a lot of people that fake being sick so they can get out of something, but with MS, you have to fake being well so you can go do things," Bouffard said.

He added that because of researchers and organizations such as NMSS, "there's a lot more days where we don't have to fake it."

Schneider said NMSS, which has an Ohio chapter in Independence, provides advocates to help people with issues such as high drug costs. It also funds research at institutions like the Cleveland Clinic and Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

"We think an ending is in sight, to be honest, in maybe my lifetime," she added.

Bouffard said that the organization also offers education programs for the children and other family members of those who are battling the disease.

Bike MS and other organizations support NMSS through events like the Buckeye Breakaway, a Berea-to-Huron bicycle ride that Schneider said will run this year on Aug. 12-13. There are also various fundraising walks through Walk MS.

In order to raise support for NMSS this school year, Sherwood said that Riverside NHS students formed teams of up to four people. Each team was responsible for planning a fundraiser or community event, and proceeds were split between NMSS and the NHS scholarship fund.

"This has been, by far, the best fundraising and community involvement year by NHS I have ever seen," she said.

New fundraisers included two student-led events for the district's children — the Spook Fest in October and Carnival in April — as well as the Holiday Market that Sherwood planned with students in December. Sherwood expects all three events to return next year.

She noted that members also raised funds from events such as bake sales.

"I just want to say how incredibly proud I am of all the members of the National Honor Society," Sherwood said. "They challenged themselves this year to do more and be more present in the community, and they have really surpassed all expectations I think they had for themselves."

"Watching them really put other people ahead of their own personal time and things that they wanted to do has been really fun, to watch them grow into these philanthropic types of people," she added. "I think they are really enjoying it, and I am just awed by their ability to do whatever they put their minds to."

Sherwood said that the school's administrators "like watching the kids get involved in the community."

"I don't think that people always see teenagers as the giving type, and I think this is really important for them to see that," she added.

NHS members expressed their appreciation for the fundraising efforts.

"Our school's connection with this foundation pushed us to make this year something special, and I feel we have done so," White said. "NHS was given the opportunity to raise more money than ever. Our members have done a great job with stepping up and putting the time and effort to execute some amazing fundraisers."

"It was very rewarding to be able to donate that money today in person," added Riverside NHS Vice President Maya Jeras. "It was nice to see the physical contribution and the physical impacts that we make in people's lives, whether it's this organization or others that we continue to fundraise for. It's very nice to know that we're helping in any ways that we can."

Bouffard also offered praise for the students.

"They are definitely becoming the future leaders and changemakers in society, so I'm just incredibly proud of them," he said.