East Helena Exchange Student From Turkmenistan Hosts Pie Fundraiser for Homeless

Aynur Toylyyeva traveled thousands of miles from Turkmenistan to attend East Helena High School, but it did not take long for her to find a way to give back to her adopted community. The foreign exchange student organized a pie fundraiser to raise money for people experiencing homelessness, a project that KTVH described as "easy as pie" when it covered the effort on March 10.

The fundraiser reflects an initiative that crossed cultural and geographic boundaries. Turkmenistan, a Central Asian nation bordering Afghanistan and Iran, has little in common with the high plains of Lewis and Clark County, yet Toylyyeva identified a local need and built a community response around it.

Details of the fundraiser's total proceeds and the specific organizations that will receive support were not immediately available, but the effort drew enough attention to earn coverage from KTVH, Helena's NBC affiliate, bringing Toylyyeva's work to a broader regional audience.

East Helena High School has long been a fixture of the small city just east of the state capital, and Toylyyeva's project adds a distinctly international dimension to its community profile. Exchange students in Montana communities often arrive with limited context for local challenges, making Toylyyeva's decision to organize around homelessness, rather than simply observe it, a notable act of civic engagement for someone still learning the rhythms of life in the region.