THUNDER BAY – After a successful three-day run, the cast, crew, and volunteers that brought Mean Girls to the stage at Superior CVI have donated the proceeds to a local organization that provides valuable programming to youth in the community.
“I wanted this money to go to Our Kids Count because I heard it was a great organization doing wonderful things and I thought it was the perfect cause to donate all this money to,” said Fitzgerald Ponka, who played Kevin in the school’s production of Mean Girls.
On Friday, the cast and crew presented a cheque for $10,000 to Jackie Knough, executive director of Our Kids Count.
“We were very excited to be thought of,” Knough said.
“Our Kids Count does a lot in the community working with children, youth, and families, and we really rely on the community to come and support us in the way of sponsorships and donations. When we were approached, we welcomed it with open arms, and we are grateful to be a part of it.”
Mean Girls opened at Superior CVI on April 24 with three performances over the next three nights. The $10,000 was raised through ticket sales, concession stands, raffles, and a 50/50 draw.
Ponka said he was excited to see so much support from the community and the packed seats every night.
“I think the response to everything was wonderful and $10,000 is such a big amount to go to such a good charity,” he said.
Knough said the money will go toward programming offered by Our Kids Count, including food security, workshops, and parenting supports.
“When youth in the community can pick a charity they are connected with and be able to bring that money back into the community is just fabulous,” she said.
Knough added that Our Kids Counts also offers a lot of programming dealing with issues like bullying, which is a central theme in Mean Girls.
“I got to see the play. It was amazing,” she said. “They did a phenomenal job, the production crew, the cast, all of the volunteers. It’s a huge community effort to bring something like this together and the response from the community was fabulous.”
