Caucus to be held Feb. 1 at various locations in OTC

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The New York Mills Close Up group is nearing their halfway point on their timeline of fundraising. The group will fundraiser for another year, before they make their way to Washington D.C. and New York City in April of 2026 to see the United States government in action and see the sights most people only see on TV.

Angela Paavola, Close Up advisor, has been pushing the students to do their best to fundraise for the trip as each of the 23 students have a price tag of $3,100 attached to their travel plans. With over $70,000 to raise before the spring of 2026, the students still have a lot of work to do to reach their goal.

One of the upcoming fundraising opportunities will be the Purse Bingo, which will be held on Saturday, March 29 at the NY Mills VFW Club #3289. The event will host 15 rounds of bingo as well as a burger bar. A silent auction, live auction, raffle drawings, meat raffle, Split the Pot games, and extra bingo packets will all be available.

Attendees will compete to win designer handbags from Michael Kors, Guess, Kate Spade and Coach. Tickets are now available for sale from any Close Up member for everyone to secure their seat for a chance to win big and support a good cause while they’re at it.

Out of the almost two dozen students, each one is looking forward to seeing the sights of the United States Capitol as well as the Big Apple. 

Sofia Godinez-Milantoni, 11th grade, said she is looking forward to making memories with her friends as well as making a stop at the Lincoln Memorial.

Classmate Elijah Geiser is also looking forward to the history behind the Close Up visit, but most importantly, he wants to experience the sights and sounds of the nation’s largest city.

“Going to New York and seeing all of the giant buildings,” he said.

“New York City,” agreed Blake Hiltner, 10th grade. He is also looking forward to the chance to fly on a plane again.

Hiltner’s classmate, Allison Bosworth, is also looking forward to her trip to New York, but she is excited for the general experience and will be happy to see everything available to the group.

“I want to go out and see different people and different places,” she said.

Paavola is also excited to be able to take the students on this guided tour of the District of Columbia. Although she teachers social studies to her fourth grade classes, she admitted that she hasn’t had a chance to see much of the nation’s historic landmarks either and looks forward to the opportunity to do so.

“I really want to see the amazing things and be right there,” said Paavola. “It’s such a good guided trip and they’re such a great group of kids. They’re so busy, so to give up their nights and their time means a lot, I’m proud of them. I think the fundraising also brings them together, so they’re more of a cohesive group.

“I don’t coach anymore, so I miss the relationships with the kids as they get older,” she continued. “I do miss that, so some of my former students will be going and that will be fun. But I also get to see those things and expand what I teach in social studies.”

Paavola said that she shares much of her experience planning the Close Up fundraising and itinerary with her fourth grade class and that has created excitement for the program in those elementary students.

“My fourth grade can’t wait to go,” she smiled. “They know we’re doing a purse bingo, they see my Close Up shirt, they saw my itinerary. I’m getting them excited and I think that helps build excitement too.”

Along with seeing the different branches of government at work in the nation’s capitol, experiencing the bustling city of New York and site seeing many historic landmarks, Paavola hopes the trip opens the eyes of the students to the world.

“Just to expand their world,” she said. “There’s more than just right here. Culture, different people, different experiences, and some life lessons of what we’re going to experience.”