During April 2022, also known as “Earth Month,” the adult Environmental Committee took steps to encourage increased sustainability at MFS. One of the newest initiatives was the “Wandraiser,” a collection of mascara wands. Students and teachers were curious to know what the wands will be used for once collected.

Many students had questions about the drive, including Maya DeAndrea ’25. She said she hadn’t heard much about the collection besides that they were going to be donated. “I heard that the mascara wands are being collected to be reused, but I don’t actually know where they are going and what the purpose of the collection is for,” she commented.

Rachel Kaplan, a member of the adult Environmental Stewardship Committee and LS coding teacher, said that the wands were originally set to be donated to Wands for Wildlife, a 501c3 non-profit organization that collects and repurposes old mascara wands. The organization uses the wands for cleaning animals, creating inspiring wand art, and repurposing the wands. Kaplan organized the donation at MFS, but recently said she “might donate the wands [to Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge] instead, because it’s local, and the wands are going to be used for animals one way or another.”

Kaplan said that her original inspiration for collecting the mascara wands came about during quarantine at the time of the Australia wildfires. “The koalas were so severely burned, and apparently the wands were something that could help them, so I started collecting [the wands] … this year I wanted there to be more than just me donating them.”

Kaplan also noted that her main goal in collecting the wands at MFS was to “help injured wildlife [because] the mascara wands are gentle enough to help heal the animals.” She also said  that she hopes to continue the collection in future years. “Definitely, I feel like if people are using mascara [wands], why not have somewhere for them to go afterward?”