Contact Information: Contact: Alyssa Nightingale 631-367-8599 anight@att.net
Long Island Students Learn Valuable Lessons as They Support Haitian Earthquake Victims
| Source: Long Island President's Council
LONG ISLAND, NY--(Marketwire - February 1, 2010) - Students and teachers from public schools
across Long Island are learning a special lesson in social responsibility
and using creative tactics in an effort to raise money to support victims
of the recent devastating earthquakes in Haiti. From skipping a meal in
order to donate their lunch money to paying a charitable fine for wearing a
hat in class, students are coming together to help those in need. For many
it has become a lesson in compassion and in making a difference within our
world. And for Long Island public school educators who are working
alongside their students and encouraging the spirit of giving in such a
critical time of need, it is a great way to teach social responsibility.
The initiatives which are taking place in public schools across Long Island
demonstrate a level of compassion which touches the heart. Teachers in the
Syosset School District recently donated $1,000 to the NYSUT Disaster
Relief Fund for Haiti while the student government is coordinating a fund
drive among ten individual schools. At the Seaford Middle School, students
have hosted a fundraiser to support the American Red Cross. South Side
Middle School in Rockville Centre and the Jack Abrams Intermediate School
in Huntington Station suspended their "no hat" rule and collected between
$1 and $2.00 per student/staff member for a "license" to wear a hat. South
Side Middle School raised more than $1,200 in one day for the Haitian
relief fund.
"We are all learning that no matter how small the donation may be, it's
something that will have a positive impact on the many people in need,"
said Jeff Rozran of the Syosset Teachers' Association and Board Member of
NYSUT. "It's important for our students to learn social responsibility and
that they can make a significant difference by their actions," he added.
And this is one lesson students seem to be learning. In Mineola, the high
school's Student Services Center, Student Government and Red Cross Club
teamed up to host a pancake breakfast for a $3.00 per person donation that
attracted students, parents and neighbors. The spirit of giving was
prominent at North Country Road Middle School in Miller Place where
students donating $5.00 each wore red and blue in honor of Haiti's flag to
benefit the nonprofit organization Doctors Without Borders whose members
have been providing life saving treatment to the thousands injured in the
quakes. Students at West Babylon Junior High School have decided to forego
buying snacks and instead are depositing that money to benefit the
nonprofit group Friend of the Orphans.
"Students on Long Island understand the importance of supporting those in
need, and that is especially true right now while so many Haitian families
and children are suffering in the aftermath of earthquake," said Paule
Pachter, Executive Director of Long Island Cares, Inc. the Long Island food
bank that has benefitted from numerous school-based food drives to support
Long Island's hungry. "I'm sure that young people all over Long Island have
seen the images from Haiti and have had opportunities to discuss the
earthquake in their classes. It doesn't surprise me that our teachers are
working closely with their students to rally this type of support. They
come together for their neighbors in need so why not extend that sense of
caring to our global neighbors in Haiti," expressed Pachter.