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THE BEACON NEWSStudents Learn Lifelong Lessons By Aiding Haiti Quake Victims
When School District 129 students heard about the devastating January earthquake in Haiti, they were alarmed and concerned. Their next reaction was to help.
Freeman Elementary students began to raise money for the American Red Cross by selling cookies. Jewel Middle School students set about selling paper bricks and raised $1,200 for Doctors without Borders. Students became involved across the district, and some learned lifelong lessons.
"I believe that students came away with a real understanding of the connections we have with our brothers and sisters all over the world," said Layla Groleau, a teacher at Washington Middle School. "Suddenly, the stranger has become our neighbor. Our self-centered bubble has popped, and we have begun to reach out, both emotionally and financially, to those in need."
Washington Middle School students' fundraiser was called Hearts Toward Haiti. The four-week campaign culminated just before Valentine's Day and raised more than $1,300 for the Red Cross. Many students volunteered to create posters and hang them around school to announce the event and encourage participation. Others volunteered to staff a table at lunchtime, collecting change from students.
Jefferson Middle School also conducted a fundraising effort, which was led by its Student Council, teacher Chris Felber said.
"We had a dance already scheduled for February," he said. "The students decided to donate all the proceeds of the dance to the American Red Cross to benefit the people of Haiti. It was themed the 'Haitian Relief Dance.' Students agreed to donate $2 for admission instead of the standard fee of $1."
The Student Council also donated the profits of its annual Valentine's Day Candy Grams to the American Red Cross, and sold 800 of them during their lunches the week of Valentine's Day. In all, Jefferson raised $1,000.
"The students learned to care about others in need," Felber said. "They were able to put some of the concepts they were learning into practice. For example, they learned the real meaning of humanitarian aid, which recently was a seventh-grade vocabulary word in Social Studies."
At West High School, a brainstorming session among students grew into a fundraising campaign.
"The Hope for Haiti event that we created came mostly from their suggestions, ideas, and willingness to help make the event happen," said Andy Scharm, student activities director at West.
The campaign included sales of T-shirts and bracelets and a Hope for Haiti event.
"Students really had their eyes opened when they got a chance to see some memorable images at the Hope for Haiti event," Scharm said. "The silence in the room as we showed a video really showed how much the students were tuned in to the cause."
Students continue to raise money through T-shirt and bracelet sales.
A Hall Elementary School teacher who took a couple of mission trips to Haiti several years ago helped students understand the earthquake's effects.
"At school, I shared with my class some photos from my service trips to Haiti (in 2000 and 2001)," said Abbie Leverence. "I shared with them the difficulties that people had in Haiti before the earthquake. Many of the students had heard about the earthquake already, so we discussed how the buildings were destroyed and how people didn't have anywhere to go, clean water, medicine, and how the conditions of the roads made it difficult to get the supplies where they needed to be.
"We do folktales from around the world, so we read a folktale from Haiti next. The students then practiced the story as a 'Readers' Theater' to perform for the school."
The campaign was called "Hearts for Haiti" and involved sales of mini-erasers and a heart-gram message. The heart grams were 25 cents apiece, and many parents bought an entire set of them so children could give them to all their classmates.
The result? The school raised $1,000 to be donated to the Red Cross Haiti Relief and Rebuilding Fund.
Students in "2L" played a key role by giving up recess time for two weeks so they could fill orders, attach the erasers to the heart grams and separate them by class. Teachers, families and the PTA also contributed time, supplies and support.
"The students became aware of a country and culture they never really heard about," Leverence said. "They learned how lucky they are to live where they live."
When School District 129 students heard about the devastating January earthquake in Haiti, they were alarmed and concerned. Their next reaction was to help.
Freeman Elementary students began to raise money for the American Red Cross by selling cookies. Jewel Middle School students set about selling paper bricks and raised $1,200 for Doctors without Borders. Students became involved across the district, and some learned lifelong lessons.
"I believe that students came away with a real understanding of the connections we have with our brothers and sisters all over the world," said Layla Groleau, a teacher at Washington Middle School. "Suddenly, the stranger has become our neighbor. Our self-centered bubble has popped, and we have begun to reach out, both emotionally and financially, to those in need."
Washington Middle School students' fundraiser was called Hearts Toward Haiti. The four-week campaign culminated just before Valentine's Day and raised more than $1,300 for the Red Cross. Many students volunteered to create posters and hang them around school to announce the event and encourage participation. Others volunteered to staff a table at lunchtime, collecting change from students.
Jefferson Middle School also conducted a fundraising effort, which was led by its Student Council, teacher Chris Felber said.
"We had a dance already scheduled for February," he said. "The students decided to donate all the proceeds of the dance to the American Red Cross to benefit the people of Haiti. It was themed the 'Haitian Relief Dance.' Students agreed to donate $2 for admission instead of the standard fee of $1."
The Student Council also donated the profits of its annual Valentine's Day Candy Grams to the American Red Cross, and sold 800 of them during their lunches the week of Valentine's Day. In all, Jefferson raised $1,000.
"The students learned to care about others in need," Felber said. "They were able to put some of the concepts they were learning into practice. For example, they learned the real meaning of humanitarian aid, which recently was a seventh-grade vocabulary word in Social Studies."
At West High School, a brainstorming session among students grew into a fundraising campaign.
"The Hope for Haiti event that we created came mostly from their suggestions, ideas, and willingness to help make the event happen," said Andy Scharm, student activities director at West.
The campaign included sales of T-shirts and bracelets and a Hope for Haiti event.
"Students really had their eyes opened when they got a chance to see some memorable images at the Hope for Haiti event," Scharm said. "The silence in the room as we showed a video really showed how much the students were tuned in to the cause."
Students continue to raise money through T-shirt and bracelet sales.
A Hall Elementary School teacher who took a couple of mission trips to Haiti several years ago helped students understand the earthquake's effects.
"At school, I shared with my class some photos from my service trips to Haiti (in 2000 and 2001)," said Abbie Leverence. "I shared with them the difficulties that people had in Haiti before the earthquake. Many of the students had heard about the earthquake already, so we discussed how the buildings were destroyed and how people didn't have anywhere to go, clean water, medicine, and how the conditions of the roads made it difficult to get the supplies where they needed to be.
"We do folktales from around the world, so we read a folktale from Haiti next. The students then practiced the story as a 'Readers' Theater' to perform for the school."
The campaign was called "Hearts for Haiti" and involved sales of mini-erasers and a heart-gram message. The heart grams were 25 cents apiece, and many parents bought an entire set of them so children could give them to all their classmates.
The result? The school raised $1,000 to be donated to the Red Cross Haiti Relief and Rebuilding Fund.
Students in "2L" played a key role by giving up recess time for two weeks so they could fill orders, attach the erasers to the heart grams and separate them by class. Teachers, families and the PTA also contributed time, supplies and support.
"The students became aware of a country and culture they never really heard about," Leverence said. "They learned how lucky they are to live where they live."
