By Rosie Molinary on March 16, 2009
My very first year of teaching, I had the wonderful good fortune of meeting one of my dearest friends. Julie McCue taught in the classroom next door to me, and we became the best of friends and the truest of colleagues. There are MANY funny stories of our times together including one where my whole class snuck out of our room, went outside, ducked under her bay of windows which spanned the entire length of the classroom and jumped up to bang on the glass of her window at a preappointed time while she was delivering a freaky lecture on something in psychology as a Halloween prank. As you might guess, it didn’t go just as we had planned. My kids were so psyched about this prank that they totally hit the windows to hard and the windows shattered. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but we (Julie and I, not our kids who were only doing what we told them to do) were totally called to the principal’s office over the intercom system. Nice, mature first year teachers that we were. Still, ours was a special bond that was sealed with passion, good humor, boundless energy, and righteous indignation. At the end of our third year together, we both moved away from that school, but those years produced some of the dearest memories in my heart.
Julie is now back in her native Ohio and her little sister, Hope, is completing a Peace Corps assignment in Uganda. Julie has made Hope’s project not just part of her classroom curriculum but truly part of the fabric of her school. I just received this update email from Julie and wanted to share it with you because I know so many of you have a love for activism, for Africa, for orphans. In Julie’s words:
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I am really proud of Hope and her accomplishments in Uganda. Her humility does not allow her to understand the extent of her good works abroad or at home or how many hearts she has touched through sharing her stories. Let me share one of her huge accomplishments.
I can tell you that at the very least she has turned many of my students into activists and fundraisers. She has allowed groups of teenagers that are typically labeled as selfish and egocentric to show a different spirit of global affection. Her inspiration has united different cliques and different ages at my public school of 1400 to work together for a common goal. It has been a pleasure to be a part of student outreach at my school.
Please take the time to check out the Project Hope website put together by one of the project hope volunteers. On it you will see what has happened since the project was launched only a year ago. You will see the initial video from our first rally on the home page. Throughout the site…you will see our original orange and blue logo. You will see our current logo used this year on a project hope product line that is our big fundraiser. You will see letters from Hope to the students. You will see the impressive fund report that Hope put together to show what an impact my students made to the children at the home last year. You will see pictures of the children planting the 5-6 acre sustaining plantation that was planted with the funds we raised.
You will see our focus and the proposal for this year to raise money to cover the cost of the 21 boxes of supplies that were shipped in the last couple of months to the children at the Home of Hope. We sent first aid supplies, shoes, tons of childrens books. personalized art boxes (that you will see in the initial video), educational supplies, and clothing. We also sent profile sheets with pictures and information about individual volunteers that are reaching out to the children. Also, we will help to fund a school close to where the children live. The students will transfer to this school to receive a better education and escape the corporal punishment practices at their current school. Pictures of the school under construction are on the site.
The hardships that we are experiencing based on the U.S. economic crisis has hindered our fundraising effort. Regardless, my students are continually brainstoming ideas to generate funds. So I, on behalf of the student volunteers, will do my part. I would love for you to consider donating to the project if you can or by spreading the message about this project. If anything, the student volunteers and I just appreciate your support!!
Please say prayers and/or send good wishes for my sisters safe return to the states at the end of May! Africa will be a better place having her for a couple of years and the U.S. will be a better place welcoming her home!
Thanks for reading,
Julie
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Back to me:
Feel free to send me any questions you have about the project after reviewing the site. I am happy to be in touch with Julie to find out more. |
Posted in Inspired | Tagged activism, Africa, charity, education, fundraising, global activism, high school, high school students, Peace Corps, philanthropy, service learning, Uganda |
