Parents - need a night out? Apex Friendship students hope to make dreams come true through Make-A-Wish fundraiser

Students at Apex Friendship High School are working to raise money to support Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina and make dreams come true for at least one local boy who is critically ill.

And to do it, they are offering a service for parents in the next couple of weeks. Students will host two Parents' Nights Out from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, at Apex United Methodist Church. The cost is $20 per child, and it's designed for kids in kindergarten to fifth grade. The theme is STEMshops, and the high school students will get the kids involved in various holiday-based science, technology, engineering and math activities.

The high school's Academy of Engineering and DECA chapter, the association of marketing students, are hosting the events.

"We are hoping to not only grant his wish, but generate as much as possible for others," Gilbert tells me. The effort is being organized almost entirely by the students with guidance from Gilbert and Diane Cadavid, who is director of the school's engineering and advanced manufacturing academy.