Every good deed should be celebrated, but some people simply do not want the limelight that comes with being in the spotlight – yet they still want to be engaged.

That is why this group of adults established an anonymous society dedicated to assisting the youngsters of their impoverished village.

The Secret Alumni Yellowjacket Society (SAYS) is an association of adults who used to live in Fredonia, Kansas, a place described as a poor Midwestern city by the society’s president, who requested anonymity from Good News Network.

The president, who is now a scientist at a university medical center, is one of a few dozen SAYS members who are all successful alumni over the age of 35.

“Most of our members are really successful and have reached a point in their lives where they want to give back but do not want public attention,” she explained to Good News Network.

“This is why we will never reveal our entire membership list.”

We don’t need to impress anyone, we don’t need to be recognized, and we don’t want any “thank yous.” We simply want to respond when someone informs us of a need.”

SAYS works with a few teachers, counselors, and the superintendent of the Fredonia Unified School District, Brian Smith, to fund any academic or recreational resources the instructors and children may require in the small Midwestern town.

“It may mean we buy sports shoes for students who want to try out for sports, instructional aids for teachers, or software that the school district cannot afford.”

“We have a few people on the private Facebook page who will never address the community, but they want to see what we are doing, and if they see a project that they are passionate about, they will send me a private message and say they will donate.”

Because SAYS is not a charity organization, it is unknown how much money they have provided to their hometown’s education system – but the president knows that they have donated at least $65,000 since their inception in January.

Four SAYS members spent nearly $42,000 on a clothes closet, which now provides students with free clothes, shoes, toiletries, and other school essentials.

“The organization wanted the room to be a “cool” area, well arranged and designed like a store,” revealed the president.

“More importantly, the members wanted to provide youngsters who needed stuff to be able to go and acquire what they needed secretly.”

Other projects have included purchasing cameras for journalism classes at the schools, establishing an early learning center for pre-K students, organizing a special Olympics tournament, distributing prom dresses, providing teaching aids to special needs children, and other smaller, more secretive projects that benefit individual students.

While secrecy is one of the society’s pillars, not everyone in Fredonia can maintain their private. The SAYS president approached GNN after being turned down for a piece by the editor of their local news station.

“We approached the local media, and they refused… to print an article about some of the things we’ve done to assist instructors and students in reaching their full potential.”

As editor, her explanation for not publishing is that “she needs the members’ names, because otherwise it would be fake news.”

But the members of the society are not disappointed; they hope that by exposing the organization’s accomplishments, other schools and alumni will be encouraged to launch similar efforts for their own communities.

“With 78% of children receiving financial help, it is clear that this small town is dealing with many of the same difficulties observed in larger cities, such as drug usage and the loss of industry that once supported the area.”

We bridge the gap between what is and is not permitted expenditures through the state education fund.”

“SAYS believes that every child has an innate drive to learn and that every child should be given the opportunity to do so,” said another group member.

“It is our mission to develop learning desire within Fredonia schools by facilitating a setting that removes as many potential learning hurdles as possible.”