Younger students contribute to relief efforts By Sarah Jane Lasley
Since it is inadvisable for young children to handle crowbars or power saws, Lower and Middle School students had to find other ways to give their time and energy to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Third grade student Samantha Boyd donated old books to Houston-area schools with flooded libraries. She and her sister Stella, a kindergarten student, also volunteered alongside their parents, bringing water, fans and other necessities to people whose houses flooded. “It was so weird to see what a house looks like with nothing in it,” Boyd said. “It made me feel really bad for all of those families that now have nothing.” Another family, who asked to remain anonymous, delivered homemade cupcakes to their local fire department to thank the first responders for their service. The children, a student in kindergarten and a student in second grade, also handed out doughnuts one morning in a hard-hit neighborhood. “I can’t describe it, but it made me feel warm inside,” the second grade student said. Volunteering taught the children about friendship and support. “It has been a hugely important teaching moment for us to impart empathy and a sense of caring for the community,” the mother said. Middle school students were just as enthusiastic to help. When Lower School science teacher Michelle Hayes’ home flooded in Braeswood Place, crowds of energetic volunteers flocked to help her family clean, having mucked the home of Athletic Trainer Mike Kleinstub mere days before. (See story, page 7.) Sixth grade student Penelope Macpherson arrived eager to help at Hayes’ home, bearing a tray of fresh brownies with her family. “Penelope was in Mrs. Hayes’s advisory in Class 4 so she really wanted to do something to help,” Penelope’s mother Consuelo Macpherson said. “The brownies were just a small gesture to show that she cared and that she was thinking of them.” Boy Scout Troop 55 organized a clothing drive at St. John the Divine. Scouts helped sort and bag donations including clothes, blankets, and cleaning supplies for distribution centers such as the BBVA Compass stadium and Jewish Community Center. Will Burgess, a fourth grade student and Boy Scout, and his parents, Bill and Stacy Burgess, went through all of Will’s clothes and donated both casual and dress clothes for all seasons. Will also went through his toys and games and
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GATHERING AT THE GARAGE: A group of
Lower School students and parents put together activity packs for students from schools with delayed openings.
HARD AT WORK:
Sixth grade students Yazzie Stein and Lillian Poag empty bottles of household cleaning supplies at the home of Lower School science teacher Michele Hayes. CATHERINE SMITH
gave away several that were new or gently used. Lower School parents Leslie Sasser and Mary Dawn McEnany organized a community service project for second grade students on Sept. 4. The students put together activity packets for children attending schools that delayed their reopening due to flood damage. “We appreciated the opportunity for the kids to feel that they were a part of the recovery process of the city,” McEnany said. “So many of the parents wanted our children to volunteer and give back, but very few opportunities were available.” Along with handwritten, heartshaped notes from the young volunteers, the packets included individual pages from coloring books, crayons, stickers, puzzles, pipe cleaners and mazes. Once the packets were completed, parents delivered them to the George R. Brown Convention Center, which housed many evacuated families with children whose schools were closed indefinitely. “The effort amazed the parents, and everyone was so hap-
SHELLEY STEIN
py to see their friends and to experience a little bit of normalcy,” Sasser said. “The students were happy to help in a small way.” By the end of their shift, the young volunteers organized and packaged over 2,000 activity packets. “I was very proud of how focused the kids were on their jobs,” McEnany said. “Everyone who came that day jumped right in to help immediately. Kind is cool.”
THE REVIEW SPECIAL EDITION OCTOBER 3, 2017