Tiger Shop donates $1,000 to Special Olympics team

North Stars to get new swimsuits

The Tiger Shop at North Allegheny Intermediate High School serves a dual purpose: helping students with special needs learn vocational skills and providing funds for worthwhile charities.

Last week, the students and their teachers, joined by building and district administrators, gave a $1,000 check to the North Stars Special Olympics team.

Joyce Lofink, a board member of the North Stars, said the donation will be used for new swimsuits for the swim team.

The goal of Special Olympics, she said, is for those with special needs “to lead healthy, vibrant lives grounded in ongoing sports and physical activities.”

The Tiger Shop previously donated $2,000 to a variety of mostly local charities — the North Hills Food Bank, the Project Water Dodgeball Tournament at the senior high, Santa’s Stocking, a student council project at the intermediate high school that provides gifts for underprivileged children, and Tigers Helping Tigers, an initiative to provide goods to a school in Texas that was damaged during Hurricane Harvey.

“The highlight of the year, and the highlight of my day every day is seeing all these amazing students in the Tiger Shop,” said Caitlin Ewing, building principal.

Teacher Jill Nader said the students learn how to place orders, stock shelves and handle money. “It was a much bigger success than we ever imagined,” she said.

Her colleague, Marybeth Johnson, said they started in the middle of the 2016-17 school year with “an AV cart and poster board.”

Tiger Shop sells snacks to hungry students twice a day and between classes. The top sellers are Pop-Tarts and granola bars.

The students also volunteered this year at Animal Friends and the North Hills Community Outreach vegetable garden.