Fandom High School

Class was at the Community Center today, only it wasn't JUST class. It was the Fandom High Gala Brunch and all were invited! attendance was mandatory for the people in Bruce's workshop, of course, but people from around town and NPC wealthy donors from the mainland were invited as well.

"Welcome to our last workshop of the semesster," Bruce said. After being dressed down regularly for this workshop, he was once again in one of his nicer suits. "And more importantly, welcome to our charity brunch gala benefitting Fandom High. All proceeds from this event will go towards funding Fandom High's activities, including but not limited to trips, magical safety protocols, and textbooks for the more traditional elements of your education."

"You have three goals today. First, mingle and make sure the donors in attendance understand how valuable the Fandom High experience is so that they know to make a healthy donation," Bruce explained. "Second, have some brunch. Third, enjoy yourselves."

"Welcome to the soup kitchen, class," Bruce announced. "This one is pretty straightforward. People who can't afford to eat can come her for three warm meals a day. They'll get bread, because it's filling. And they'll get soup, because it's warm and easy to make in bulk."

"The people already at work here will handle that. All you really need to do is give these unfortunate people some food and, if you can, a smile," Bruce said. "Because a human connection can mean a lot to a person in need, even if it's as simple as that."

"Now, let's go inside, put on some aprons, and get to work feeding people."

Bruce had sent an email out to his students to meet him at the causeway today. Once everyone had gathered, he took them through a portal and out to a construction site.

"I hope you all dressed safely today," Bruce said with real concern in his voice. He had stressed the point in his email, too, so nobody had an excuse to be wearing flip flops or loose clothes that might get caught in machinery. He was personally wearing jeans, boots, and a Wayne Foundation T-shirt along with his hard hat and safety glasses. "Because today we're building homes for families in need."

"The reason we're doing this work is because the process of building a home is expensive. In order to build a home for a family that can't afford one, we have to do it as in expensively as possible. That's why they're fairly simple designs with simple materials. We have some professionals running the projects to make sure the work is done right, but any volunteer labor we can get at any stage is a huge help."

"What we have here is a regular wood frame house." That probably wasn't a shock since the house they were standing in front of didn't have any sheathing, exposing the wood frame to the world. "This house needs some more work done with the frame, building headers and sills for upcoming window installation. The house next door is just getting the foundation poured, so if you really want to get your hands dirty, you can help the workers mix cement. Or if you're not really into construction, the house on the other side needs to be painted."

"Obviously, the process of building a home takes longer than a class period, so if you want to stay to help out all day, I'll be here, too. Otherwise, you're free to go back to the portal at the end of the period or whenever you need to leave. But between now and you leaving, I'd like it if you kept a buddy and stayed close to them. I don't want anyone getting hurt because they wandered off on their own," Bruce explained. "But any additional time you can give will help because before we start, we have to go through a construction safety seminar."

If he weren't a bit nervous today, Bruce might have just slapped some hard hats on the students and told them to get to work. But he just had a bad feeling today, which meant a professional had to explain the importance of a hard hat and safety glasses, how to swing a hammer, what not to do with wet concrete, and the dangers of paint fumes. Fun!

Class had technically been in session for a couple minutes by the time Bruce strolled casually into the classroom. Because that's where you were today, class! Don't worry, he would make it up to you in future classes.

"Good morning, everyone. In case you don't know me, I'm Bruce Wayne. Please, call me Bruce," he said. "In my world, I run Wayne Enterprises, the multi-national conglomerate my parents started. Frankly, I let other people worry about most of the day-to-day business there while I focus on my parents' other major contribution, The Wayne Foundation. A hefty percentage of Wayne Enterprise's revenue as well as my personal fortune goes into funding the Foundation's efforts in more charitable areas than I can count, including donations to this school."

"And that's why I'm a first time teacher who didn't get a teaching buddy," Bruce joked. It was funny to him, at least.

"What I really want to do with this workshop is try to make sure some Fandom High students get in the habit of giving their time to charitable efforts of all sorts, not just your typical Fandom alternate realities, invasions, and other things like that. We'll be starting out small with a bake sale next week, but by the end of the session, you'll be part of a gala event where you will be expected to schmooze with people to make sure they donate money."

"The proceeds from any fundraising activities will be split in half. Half will go to the school while half will go to organizations in need on the mainland. Just because Fandom is a weird neighbor doesn't mean it shouldn't be a good neighbor, after all."

"But for this week, we're going to keep it simple. Please introduce yourself, state why you're interested in charitable works, and if you have anything specific you'd like to do this session, please, let me know. I'm open to suggestions. After that, I have plenty of recipies if you want to get a head start on figuring out what you're going to make to sell at the bake sale next week."

"Oh, and if you have any specific questions, you can either talk to me or my TAs," Bruce said, grabbing a note from his suit's coat pocket. "They are Bay Kennish and Barry Ween. If it ever seems like I have no idea what I'm doing as a teacher, look to them and see how hard they're eyerolling."