AUBURN – Something very special happened at Edward Little High School a few weeks ago. Students took ownership of a tsunami relief fund-raising effort during the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 4 and easily exceeded their original goal of $1,000. This allowed them to become part of something special. They were given an opportunity to respond to something beyond their frame of reference, and they rose to the occasion.

Various groups throughout the school, as well as individuals, used myriad ways to donate. Bake sales and bottle drives were held daily, including a faculty sale on Thursday; faculty and staff could wear jeans for a $1 per day donation; students and faculty paid $1 on Wednesday to wear hats, which are usually not allowed in school; several clubs and organizations made specific donations; and spare change found its way into several collection tins. Individual classrooms and teams also promoted internal initiatives for the cause.

One of the most inspirational moments came during a student-led assembly comprised of educational, memorial and rallying themes. Narrated by Student Council member Natalie Tribou, the event began with an explanation of the origins of a tsunami and how its devastating effects would be felt so far from the epicenter of the earthquake. With the lights dimmed in the gymnasium, Bitsy Mitchell then offered a presentation featuring flags of the 14 countries affected by the tsunami while Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” played softly in the background.

Varsity Club adviser Val Brown then challenged the student body to reach into their pockets and donate any change they had on them, vowing that the Varsity Club would match anything collected that day from its own coffers. The total topped more than $700.

There was something different about that week. It was a moving, human experience, and it became a way for the students to respond to an international tragedy that built its own momentum. The money, though important, was secondary to what the kids learned. Eleven hundred students were silent at that assembly because they began to understand the magnitude of the disaster.

The students became creative in the ways they earned money for the relief effort. One student set himself up as a street entertainer and collected funds from the others enjoying his music; another donated his week’s lunch money. The event touched them in special ways, and they saw how they could contribute from their little corner of the world.

The staff and students came together for a common goal. The way they responded to the tragedy speaks to their compassion, understanding and humanity. It was a teachable moment when students successfully responded to a social justice issue by demonstrating responsibility to others through problem solving and becoming aware of events outside of their classrooms, their city, their state and their country.

Pat Gautier and Heidi McCurdy are librarians at Edward Little High School.

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