Internationally known artist Mel Chin’s Sous Terre Fundred Armored Truck visited MHS Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Chin and his crew selected the Maize district as a stopping point because of the number of students who chose to participate in creating the bills. 

    Last year, art teacher Bethany Janssen heard about Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill Project and brought it MHS. These dollars are original, hand-drawn interpretations of $100 bills. The whole Maize district completed thousands of Fundred artworks that were sent to the WSU Ulrich Museum.

    However, MHS didn’t only give Fundreds to Chin and his Sous Terre truck. Used vegetable oil drained from the school’s cafeteria was also donated. It was filtered free of all debris and then pumped into the veggie oil fuel tank. Up to 30 gallons of oil will allow the truck to travel 300 miles.

    Fundred is raising nationwide awareness of the environmental threat of lead-poisoning by collecting the funds needed for relief in New Orleans. This project will collect at least 3 million Fundreds, which is the equivalent of $300 million – the estimated cost of making the soil in New Orleans lead-safe.

    “I think even if they don’t raise all the money, it will definitely help raise awareness,” Janssen said.

The truck will deliver the Fundreds to Washington, D.C., where a request will be made to Congress for an even exchange from Fundreds to actual funds for Operation Paydirt, a citywide landscape recovery program for New Orleans.

     “I started the project, but it means nothing without you,” Chin said to students who came to see the armored truck.