Local resident Joe Voss recently put his talents to work to help the Gentry Middle School Parent Booster Club raise money by handcrafting a quilt.
The booster club plans to sell raffle tickets for the quilt as a fundraiser for the school’s Student Assistance Fund, which is being used to help pay the cost of students for a spring trip.
Voss is a retired elementary school teacher and a United States Army veteran. He taught both fifth and sixth grades at Franklin Elementary School before retiring from Surry County Schools, then taught an additional six years at Jonesville Elementary School in Mount Airy. Although he retired several years ago, he continues to work with the school system as a substitute teacher.
Voss has also quilted for many years. He credits his mother with teaching him the craft. Voss said he remembers completing his first quilt at 10 years of age.
In April, seventh- and eighth-grade students at Gentry Middle School will have the opportunity to travel to Williamsburg, Virginia, for a three-day trip. While there, they will visit the historic towns of Jamestown, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, along with Busch Gardens.
Gentry’s administrators and teachers are working to enable every student to take the trip. Voss got in on the effort by donating the quilt he made by hand.
Although the boosters are sponsoring the fundraiser, the student council will aid in the organization and selling of raffle tickets. Proceeds from the quilt will help offset the cost of the trip for participating students.
Anyone wishing to support this fundraiser by purchasing raffle tickets or who has a student who has a desire to sell tickets, contact the school at 336-786-4155 or the student council sponsor, Kim Davis, at davisk@surry.k12.nc.us.
