Written by BRHS Senior Natasha Berryman
Hurricane Katrina has already passed, but the evidence of the destruction hasn't. The headstones of people who have died are now standing. Buildings are still in ruins. Some families still don't have housing and the ones that do are often shuffled around from place to place. There are hears that are still broken and heavy from pain and loss.
Many people have said over the past few months that they had grown tired of hearing about the hurricanes. They wished that news stations and papers would stop talking about the destruction and the loss. People have stopped donating, some have even forgotten about what happened. They want congress, senators, and celebrities to stop blaming each other for what happened. They just want to let the healing process begin, and allow it to do what it does: heal. A group of students at BRHS felt similar feelings, but instead of just voicing quiet opinions and making small wishes, they took a stand. They set a goal, achieved it, and then reached for more.
"Even though we can't give them everything they need, it feels good to know that our class is trying to help them in some way." - Junior Kylie Davis.
"Basically we were just interested in helping in another way, instead of just raising money for them. Then we heard about a program that allowed you to adopt a school, and we got involved," senior Kim Schussler stated.
Like many other groups and organizations, Mr. Bank's fourth hour Modern Social Problems class had begun by raising money to help hurricane Katrina victims. They planned on giving the money that they raised to the Red Cross. However, before any money was donated, Mr. Banks got in touch with the Louisiana Principals' Association and was told about a program that allowed schools that hadn't been affected by Katrina to adopt a sister school in the South. The sister school would send them a list of the things they needed and they could be given resources and materials directly, instead of having to go through a middle man. "Mr. Banks was looking into the program and talked to someone that referred us to a school. Although not damaged by the hurricane, East St. John High School in Reserve, Louisiana absorbed 350 students from other schools that were damaged.
So, what did they do with the information that they'd received? After communicating with the school's principal, a group of students in the class (junior Todd Buckingham, junior Alyson Roshak, senior Jaimie Hughes, senior Kim Schussler, senior Matthew Schaaf, senior Abbey Currie, senior Heather Vallette, junior Kylie Davis, and senior Abby Podufaly) got together and told Mr. Banks that adopting a school was "a go". They then set out to raise as much money and get as many materials that they could gather together to give to their new sister school, East St. Johns.
Each person in the group was given a list of businesses in the Big Rapids area to contact and ask if they were willing to give donations to help out with their cause. So far, they've raised over seven hundred dollars, received donations and items from the Alpha Pi Delta and Brookside Elementary, and Midwest Press. Special thanks goes to Pastor Bookshaw of St. Peters for opening the church to collect items and also to Midwest Press for great rates on sweatshirts that arrived just in time for the first cold spell in Louisiana!
"We feel that what we're doing is something we're obligated to do. Those people need us, and we want to do everything we can to help them out. Their lives have already been destroyed, they shouldn't be deserted too," said Schussler, the leader of the group.