Loading...“What is the church’s role in society?” That’s what 7th-graders at All Saints’ Episcopal School in Morristown were talking about in their religion class study of Christian charity during August. But the class wasn’t satisfied with just discussion; it wanted to take on a project demonstrating the concept.
Their teacher, Cindy Selby, provided the students with several possible projects and the class chose to participate in the Episcopal Church’s “Rebuild Our Church in Haiti” appeal.
Peg Kucan, chair of the Outreach Committee at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Morristown, gave a presentation about the appeal to the class during its consideration of possible projects that included the song, “We Are the World,” and a video with lots of photos and facts about income levels and living conditions in Haiti, as well as the enormity of the catastrophic earthquake. Kucan explained to the students why the Episcopal cathedral is important, providing more than religious services to the Haitian people.
“The students were very pumped up by this video, and, for the next couple of weeks, they talked and debated about which project to tackle and how to raise money,” said Selby.
They decided to raise funds to help rebuild the cathedral and called their project “Bricks for Haiti.” After much discussion about what kind of fundraiser would be the quickest and cheapest to put on, the class opted to hold a “free dress week,” inviting students to make a $20 donation to the charity, and in return, students could wear casual clothing during the week instead of uniforms.
Headmaster Dr. Henry Selby gave his approval for the proposed project, which was requested in a letter to Selby from the 7th grade class.
The class then consulted the calendar for the best time to run their project, selected mid-October, and got started creating advertising posters. The class also worked on a PowerPoint presentation for the entire student body, to be given at Chapel during the free dress week.
On Oct. 19, the 7th grade class at Chapel presented the narrated slideshow they had created along with a $1,540 check for the “Rebuild Our Church in Haiti” appeal. The slideshow included photos, many found online at the Rebuild Our Church in Haiti web site, of the devastation caused by the earthquake, with before and after photos of the cathedral as well as pictures of people, now homeless, living in tents.
Teacher Selby said, “The fundraiser was very popular, with most of the students in K-8th grades participating. We also had some donations from teachers, parents, and even a local lunch vendor who happened to see the poster.”
Seventh-graders at All Saints' Episcopal School, Morristown, hold a check for $1,540 raised during the class “Bricks for Haiti” project as part of their study of Christian charity. From left to right are: Trey Mitchell, Lucas Kohler, Elijah Hopson, Madeline Knight, Mallory Sawyer, Sarah Hopson, Hamza Kouser, Sean McGarel, Braden Cupp.
Photo courtesy All Saints’ Episcopal School, Morristown
All Saints’ Episcopal School is located at 3275 Maple Valley Road; Morristown, TN 37813; phone 423-586-3280.
