This past fall, Hurricane Melissa devastated the island of Jamaica as a category five hurricane, displacing over 90,000 people and killing 107. The Community Council, primarily through select grade representatives, worked with the Service Leadership team and the Upper School baking club to host a bake sale for Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization

After landfall, Melissa destroyed Sangster International Airport, the main gateway to the island, and hundreds of the island’s hotels. For the island of Jamaica, tourism is the primary source of income, and with the devastation of Melissa, the small island is now out of the roughly $5 billion in tourism influx alone. 

“It was great to see the community come together and bake for those who were affected by the disaster in Jamaica, and I loved being able to help council with this sale,” junior Caitlin Morrow, a leader of the baking club, said.

Community Council representatives Pia Serevin and Cornelia Gruenberg, a sophomore, Owen Spencer, a junior, and Mariyam Henderson, a senior, led the sale for Council, coordinating with the baking club and the Community Engagement team.

Highlights from the sale included a handful of treats from the Gruenberg family, such as homemade snickerdoodle cookies and chocolate chip cookies. Nearly every member of the council baked as well, with dozens of freshly baked cookies, muffins, and one of the most popular items, senior Isabelle Cai’s “Brownies of the Night,” combining brownies, Oreos, and cookie dough.

Between the middle school lunch period and the lunch hour for the upper school, the bake sale raised $1225 for the Direct Relief organization.