Annapolis High School senior Maisie Fujita is starting her final year of high school in doubt of exactly what will happen, if there will even be a full school year.
The 2019-20 school year was cut short, and the story of the 2020-21 school year remains to be told, but later this month when students in Dearborn Heights School District No. 7 go back to start the year, they will be required to wear face masks.
That’s where Fujita stepped in, she decided to start a mask drive to help the district try to keep herself and her classmates safe.
“After the Board of Education meeting back in late July where Supt Jennifer Mast released her plan for the upcoming school year, I began to think a lot about how unique my senior year would be,” she said. “Knowing that many of my extracurricular activities like homecoming, fundraising, and volunteering would ultimately be extremely limited, I decided that I would want to spend my time giving back in a different way.”
After a lot of thought, the way she chose to give back was by getting masks for as many families as she could.
“Many of the issues that were debated during the recent meetings had to do with limited funds and how those could be allocated best,” Fujita said. “This is what inspired me to start the District 7 Family Mask Drive, to give back to the district by collecting masks for students in need.”
Fujita’s goal, on July 31 when she launched the project, was 500 masks. She was collecting both reusable cloth masks and single use ones.
She quickly gathered 143 cloth masks from the community, and then received 500 disposable masks from Dearborn Heights City Councilman Bill Bazzi.
“I decided that 1,000 masks total would be a reachable goal,” she said. “Over a dozen people have contacted me about making donations by messaging the Facebook page or commenting on any of its posts. I am so grateful for everyone who has committed to donating and who have helped me share my page.”
The Facebook page can be found at https://bit.ly/31CXiqa.
Fujita said when given the choice, she chose to attend school in person, despite the risks.
“I have great faith in the precautions being put in place,” she said. “Going back after being away for six months is scary for both students and staff, however I am determined to make the most out of my senior year, despite the challenges the world is facing.”
