One of Jones’ longstanding affinity groups, Black Student Union (BSU), has worked to bring their club back into the popular eye through fundraising, specifically their Halloween-themed fundraiser. 

“We [sold] taffy apples from [Oct.] 25 until November 4,” said BSU Social Media Coordinator Kyron Harrison ‘23. “We had sprinkles, regular plain taffy apples, and apples with nuts on them.” 

Choosing the date and time of the fundraiser was an important decision for the club.

“During our time at Jones, we haven’t really seen fundraisers go on [during] October,” said BSU Vice President Jalisa Townes-Jackson. “It’s mostly just a skip-to-December to sell holiday things, so we thought about doing something for October and Halloween, because that was sort of an untouched market.”

So far, tapping this “untouched market” has worked in favor of BSU. 

“We bought 150 apples, and we sold out [on our first day],” said Jackson. 

To get their fundraiser off the ground, BSU worked closely with Jones’ staff. 

“We got together with the Business Coordinator of Jones, Mr. Burney, and he was actually the one who suggested the idea of taffy apples to us,” said Jackson. 

With the success of their current fundraiser, BSU leadership believes that they have a better understanding of what to provide during future fundraisers. 

“[We] think it’s about finding something that isn’t around every day, right? Like taffy apples, you can’t get that every day at school,” said BSU sponsor Mr. Roach.

With their plans finalized, BSU members started promoting the fundraiser through different mediums. 

“We have one of our club members walking around the school during Aclab telling [people] where we are, how long we’re selling [for], and prices for said apples,” said Harrison. “We made flyers for social media and we’ve also posted a lot on [social media] about this.”

With new money from fundraisers, BSU leadership hopes to put on a variety of events. 

 “We hold various events, such as Movie Night, which are an encouragement of school spirit, and just [generally] building our community at Black Student Union,” said Jackson. 

The immediate success of their first fundraiser of the year has encouraged BSU to continue planning similar events for the future. 

“I think that this is really setting a tone for us in our fundraising,” said Harrison. “And I would say that over time, we’re going to get more and more creative with what we sell and how we sell it.”

The fundraiser has also been helpful in introducing students to the club’s purpose as a whole. 

“It was just a matter of audience and getting more people involved in knowing what BSU is, what our mission statement is,”

With students understanding more about BSU’s mission at Jones, more students can get involved.

“While [BSU] is [here] to build Black student community at Jones because we are a minority (in terms of percentage), [BSU] is open to everybody to come and learn about issues that affect us,” said Jackson. “Because at the end of the day, since we are an integral part of what makes up Jones, it’s important for everybody to know about those issues as well.”

In addition to fundraising, BSU hopes to continue in the future with expanding their overall reach. 

“I know that the club leadership definitely wanted to expand the footprint a little bit more this year, be a little bit more present, and out there in the community here at Jones,” said Roach.