Carter Cojei shows community spirit
27 January 2012
Carter Cojei (U10 Wolves) looked out the window of his Novi home on Jan. 10 and was shocked when he saw smoke filling the sky. Carter eventually learned from watching the news with his parents that it was coming from a house fire and that the entire house was destroyed. Novi firefighters were able to rescue the lone man inside before the home collapsed, but the family lost everything as a result of the blaze.
“I saw the house burning on the news and I felt bad for the people living in it,” Carter said. So in an effort to help the family, Carter met with David Ascher, Novi Woods principal, to pitch a fundraising idea to help them through their tough time. After contacting the family and finding out they were not in need of assistance, Carter did not want to give up on his idea. He instead changed the plan to help the firefighters that rescued the victim and put out the fire.
Dubbed “Helping Hats for Firefighters,” Carter asked all of his classmates at the elementary school to bring in at least $1 for the Novi Fire Department and in return they could wear a hat for the day. Michelle Donberger, Carter's teacher at Novi Woods, said the idea was all his, and that he didn't even mention it to his parents before talking to Ascher. Carter and classmates Avery Fenchel and Priya Desai gave up their recess one day to make flyers to hang around the school and created a note that would be e-mailed to every parent.
Helping Hats for Firefighters took place on Friday and $624.81 was collected — in fire hats, of course — for the fire department. “It's kind of cool that one idea can make a big difference,” he said. “It makes me feel good and I feel like I did something good for the community.” Carter said he doesn't plan on stopping his community service there, either. “Hopefully, when I get to fifth grade I can help out that school too,” he said.
