MIDDLETON — Middleton High School’s Class of 2009 has raised more than $40,000 for the Middleton Outreach Ministry.

The seniors started with $11,000 that was collected through fundraising efforts since they were freshmen. Previous classes had used that money to purchase some sort of memento for each graduating senior.

But given the ailing economy, class leaders decided it would be more appropriate to take that money and use it to launch a communitywide effort aimed at schools, businesses and residents to contribute to MOM, which funds outreach programs to the area’s less fortunate.

Senior class co-president Steve Ticknor announced the total at the June 7 graduation.