Seekonk's Hurley Middle School to Host Annual Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser

SEEKONK — Superintendent Rich Drolet and Hurley Middle School Principal Alexis Bouchard are pleased to announce that Hurley Middle School will host its annual Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser next week.

The Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser will take place on Monday, Nov. 16 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the school's cafeteria. Tickets, which cost 25 cents to dunk a teacher and 50 cents to dunk an administrator, will go on sale during school lunches and all proceeds will be donated to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Once students purchase their tickets, the tickets will then be entered into a drawing for the opportunity to participate in the dunkings. Names will be pulled on Friday, Nov. 13 and those chosen will have the option to either come to school that Monday to attend their live remote sessions and participate in the dunkings at lunch, or they can get dropped off during the lunch period.

On the day of the event, lunch will be provided for any student or teacher that participates in the dunkings.

All students and staff members will receive a Zoom link to watch the live dunkings from their homes if they wish to do so.

History of the Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser
The Thanksgiving Dunking Fundraiser was started by Dr. Kevin Hurley in the early 1990s at the Seekonk Intermediate School with the goal of raising money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Students purchased raffle tickets with the hope of being chosen to pour buckets of icy water over their teachers' heads.

During the next several years, the cause remained close to the heart of the building as Dr. Hurley battled through cancer himself. After Dr. Hurley's passing in 2004, the Intermediate School was renamed as the Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School, and then Assistant Principal Alan "Thiv" Thivierge took over the coordination of the fundraiser. Thivierge, who also battled cancer, continued to donate the proceeds from the fundraiser to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

When Thivierge passed away in 2009, his daughter Keri Thivierge, who is now a teacher at the Hurley Middle School, continued the tradition in Hurley and Thivierge's memory. Nearly 20 years later, students at the middle school continue to buy raffle tickets during Spirit Week (the week of Thanksgiving) for the thrill of dumping water on their teachers and administrators.

"We are pleased that despite the ongoing pandemic, we still have the opportunity to host a fundraiser that supports a cause that is near and dear to the heart of our school community," Principal Bouchard said. "While this year's fundraiser may look a little different, we encourage all of our students and faculty members to join us in raising money for Dana Farber while honoring Hurley and Thivierge's memory."