Principal sleeps on school's roof to raise money for Imelda victims

KINGWOOD, Texas – A Kingwood principal slept on the roof of his school Wednesday night in an effort to raise money to help his students who were affected by Tropical Storm Imelda.

Creekwood Middle School Principal Walt Winicki said there were 38 families at his school whose homes took on water during the deluge two weeks ago.

"From a few inches to 20 inches," Winicki said.

The school began a fundraiser to help those families, and Winicki gave students an extra incentive to stoke the giving – he would sleep on the roof if certain amounts of money were raised.

By Wednesday evening, nearly $5,000 had been raised. So, Winicki climbed to the top of Creekwood Middle about 9 p.m. and settled in for the night. Using a bag attached to a rope, Winicki said he was able to get some sustenance to his perch, including a cherry limeade and a chili dog.

While he said he wasn't prepared for the thick dew that falls in the morning, he knows some of his students have had to deal with much worse.

"This community got hit hard with Hurricane Harvey, two years ago now, and back in May a good section of our community got hit, and we had several students who got hit twice," Winicki said. "That's emotionally difficult to deal with."

Winicki said his goal is to raise $38,000 in cash and gift cards so that each family affected by Imelda's floodwaters would get at least $1,000.

Donations can be made at the school or online at DonorPerfect.com.