By J1 Reporter Jackie Blossom

To raise money for Walk-A-Thon (WAT), Marian girls come up with many creative ways to reach their class goal. Going door to door is one of the many ways girls try to collect money. Girls go to their neighbors and ask for a donation to help with tuition, but some students don’t receive the response they were hoping for. 

Because of COVID times, sophomore Chloe Whitcomb says, “One time someone opened the door and before we could even say anything they asked if we were vaccinated.” Whitcomb’s experience reflects the way some girls are treated these days, but many students received backlash long before COVID-19 hit Omaha. 

“There was this one house in my neighborhood where the owner opened the door and immediately slammed it in my face,” said junior Emma Humpal. Humpal is not the only student to receive this treatment. A person opens the door, sees the Marian sweatshirt and shuts the door in the girl’s face. Whatever the reason, from not understanding what the donation is for, to allegiance to another school or just an aversion to strangers, it can be traumatic.

Humpal is just one of many accounts from students who endured these repercussions. Many girls are successful and find a nice neighbor to donate money to their class. But there are also many girls who are finding alternative ways of raising money for WAT after hearing some of these horror stories. The addition of online donation options has helped many students reach out to friends, family and alumnae outside of Omaha to assist in the collection.

Junior Jackie Blossom goes door to door to raise money for Walk-A-Thon. Marian students so this to raise money for their individual class goal. Photoillustration.