NORTON, Ohio — One humble principal is holding up his end of the bargain after his students reached their fundraising goal this holiday season.
Norton Middle School Principal Travis Dobbins was preparing his tent when he spoke with 3News about his upcoming chilly evening on the roof.
"I agreed to this when it was 65 degrees out," Dobbins chuckled. "The kids are having fun with it and that's the most important thing. Just to give them something to be excited about this year has been fun."
The temperature is expected to be a low of 30 degrees this evening.
In years past, the school will normally enter students who donate into a drawing where the winner gets to throw a pie in Dobbins' face.
Earlier this school year, Dobbins told his middle school students that if they could raise 5,000 cans to donate to their local food bank, he would spend a night on the roof of the school.
Those middle schoolers did not disappoint.
To date, they have raised the equivalent of around 5,300 cans between food and cash donations. Of the 750 student population between grades 5 through 8, only around 60 percent are coming to school every other day due to COVID-19 protocols. Even still, the students were able to meet their fundraising goal in just two weeks.
The donations will benefit local Norton families through Norton Aid and the Barberton Area Christian Ministries.
Principal Dobbins sent off his students today from his perch on the roof, waving goodbye so they can see where he'll stay. After his son's basketball game this evening, he'll climb back up onto the roof around 8 p.m. and stay until around 5 or 6 a.m. He'll have sleeping bags in his tent and, pending an extension cord that reaches, some form of heater.
"Next year we might have to go back to a pie in the face," Dobbins concluded.
You can watch Principal Dobbins' adventures on the roof from Norton Middle Schools' Facebook page below: