positive difference
Deer Park High School Students Celebrate Haiti
There is something so beautiful to me about seeing a room of young people exuding positive energy, students who are doing so much more than working toward a goal. They’re working because they want to make a positive difference. They really get it.
Teens with a higher purpose. That’s what I saw a week ago when I walked into Tim Hubbard’s sophomore English classroom at Deer Park High School. It was going on several hours since the last bell rang but no one was even thinking about leaving. They were sprawled out on the floor and sitting at desks grouped together, each student with a specific project.
They really didn’t have a whole lot of time to waste. In less than a week they will be opening their gym up to the public, hoping everyone they know will invite nine people – or at least one, to raise awareness and funds for a culture that has won hearts worldwide after a devastating earthquake rocked what was already a country in need.
But if you come, know t
his; ‘Soiree Pour Haiti’ is not about focusing on poverty and disaster. It is about celebrating the richness of the Haitian culture. This is the first year in history that that country has had to cancel its Kanaval – an annual ushering of spring – because of the earthquake. So this year, teens, many of whom had never even heard of Haiti before January are committed to ensuring their community is connected. All their funds raised will go toward the relief efforts of the American Red Cross and the Restevek Foundation.
The Soiree will have a Haitian marketplace that will also include authentic food and a Kanaval parade in which kids will be able to participate. Deer Park students have been researching and making traditional Haitian foods, and learning folkloric songs and the Haitian national anthem. Groups from sophomore English classes have been working on posters to educate guests about different parts of the Haitian culture. People who come will also have an opportunity to vote on the best shanty made by the teens (for a small fee).
“Ever since I saw the news about the earthquake, I wanted to do something but I didn’t think I could on my own,” Kalina Procas told me. She was making tissue paper flowers that would be for sale at the event. “One day I want to make a different in the world like the man from Restavec (Restavek Foundation’s Jean Cadet spoke to the students).”
Actually, Kalina already is making a difference in this world. And so are her classmates.
Gini Verbesselt Niekamp, PR coordinator for Deer Park School District, and Tim Hubbard, sophomore English teacher and high school service-learning coordinator, have been overseeing the project.
Soiree Pour Haiti
where: Deer Park High School (8351 Plainfield Rd; 45236)
when: Thursday, March 11 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
cost: $2 for adults; kids 12 and under are $1
(Pictures – upper left, Sarah Keefe making bracelets that will be
for sale; bottom right, Kalina Procas with tissue flowers she made)
A Lesson In Giving Back
When it comes to making a difference, every little bit helps. Thus was a valuable lesson kids, ages 6 to 12, in the Gamble-Nippert YMCA’s homeschool program learned recently.
For three months they’d been asking their parents to come a little early so they could complete laps around the gym, all on their own initiative. They walked and skipped and hopped, sometimes as much as 10 times around before they started the day’s lesson.
However, this project wasn’t just about getting in shape and having fun, it was about doing something good for other people. For each lap the kids counted, their friends and family pledged them a penny, or contributed a non-perishable food item. Step-by-step, coin-by-coin, the donations added up. By the end, they had collectively raised 10,300 pennies (and 75 pounds of food).
Judy Haverkos, co-coordinator for the Gamble-Nippert YMCA program, said the students chose to give their earnings to Santa Maria Community Services. The food went to the Manna Food Pantry. H.A. Musser, Jr., Santa Maria president explained to the group why their efforts were so important.
Did the kids understand they were doing a good thing? Absolutely! “I like helping people,” said Aiden.
“Community service helps teach them character values and teamwork. Coupling that with having fun while being active is really a great teaching tool,” said Cindy Klopp, the other co-coordinator.
The coin project was just one of many enrichment activities for children in YMCA homeschool programs. Haverkos said their group is studying artists, helping the branch ‘go green’, and learning American Sign Language.
Pictured are kids who helped raise money – Victoria Freudiger; Hannah Musser; Oscar Allen; Aiden Bezdek; Samuel Musser; Nathan DeVoe. David and Rose Homelle; Adriana and Alexandria Norton; Mary Nerswick; and Joe Dupont also helped fund raise but weren’t available for the photo.
At 16, Chelsea Pitonyak has character
In Jeffrey Thomas Hayden’s short life, he was a gifted student, a competitor, and a good friend of Chelsea. He loved sports but he especially loved a challenge. That was to be his greatest strength and his greatest loss. It was September, 2004, one month shy of his 12th birthday, when he lost his valiant battle with an inoperable brain tumor. Chelsea was one of his biggest fans and prayerful supporters. His death left a chasm in her heart but she never wanted to forget her friend. Barely a teenager herself, she began the tireless journey alongside Jeffrey’s parents raising money and awareness to save the lives of other children sharing the same diagnosis. This fall marks the fifth year for Chelsea’s JTH Foundation Book Drive for Children’s Hospital held in her best friend’s memory. With more than 15 Lakota schools now involved, she’s collected more than $20,000 in books, dvd’s, and videos. Chelsea also volunteers for a therapeutic riding program at Winton Woods where she’s learned great respect for the children’s abilities to push themselves out of their comfort zones. Active in and out of school, she has earned the Bronze and Silver Awards in Girl Scouts and is a member of the National Honor Society, the Student Task Force Community Service Program, and has participated in mission trips to rural Liberty, Kentucky. “Community service is important to me because I should use my talents to help those in need. It is very fulfilling to be able to do good towards others and see it expand,” Chelsea said.
Chelsea is one of 40 teens who will be honored on November 6 by the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati for exemplifying the YMCA’s core character values – caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. In my communication work with the YMCA, I have had the greatest pleasure to learn about and get to know them all. They are true inspirations. Thank you to the YMCA for working to instill character values in young people, and for celebrating those who choose to live their lives with character!
To learn more about the YMCA Character Awards, you can visit www.myy.org.
