RUMFORD — More than half the classes at Mountain Valley High School competed last month to see which could collect the highest number of items to donate to a local women’s shelter during Domestic Abuse Awareness Month. When all was said and done, hundreds of items were gathered.
The effort was organized and supported by the school’s Civil Rights Team, led by technology teacher Jeff Bailey and AmeriCorps volunteer, Jessica Wellman.
Science teacher Craig Dilman’s junior classroom won the honor, and in turn the students were treated to Chester Fired Chicken.
Students said the meal was shared with Donna Peare’s science class because she had donated such a high number of items.
Bailey said Rumford Police Chief Stacy Carter is scheduled to pick up the many boxes of such things as shampoo, diapers, toilet paper, paper towels and others items that are needed when a woman must leave her home, often with a child.
Diane Gallagher, director of the local Abused Women’s Advocacy Project, an organization that was recently renamed to Safe Voices, also helped out with the school project.
The club, whose membership includes about a dozen high school students, often takes part in social causes. The next project is Diversity Day, set for Monday, Nov. 22.
At that time, a variety of people from varying cultures and ethnic backgrounds will discuss their experiences in the United States. Also, presentations will be made by representatives from several religions and lifestyles. Keynote speakers will be a Holocaust survivor and a man who became blind at age 19 then went on become a high school physical education teacher and later, a University of Maine sports instructor.
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