SHARE/Go Green Committee meets its goal
M’CHIGEENG—January 12 marked the 6th anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake that rocked the island nation of Haiti, killing upwards of 150,000 and leaving thousands more homeless. It was just six months later that members of the SHARE/Go Green committee and Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS) mobilized to do something, setting their sights on fundraising for a new school.
For five-and-a-half years the SHARE/Go Green committee has been working hard, fundraising each and every month toward their $10,000 goal to see a new school built through the Free the Children Brick by Brick campaign in the hardest hit region of Terre Casse. After an especially hard push in November and December, with fundraising events ranging from a Christmas play, Hawberry Jams and Jellies sales, a Give Change to Make Change drive and volunteering at the annual MSS Christmas craft sale, the students were elated to learn last week that they had succeeded—they had raised the $10,000.
The students raised $3,900 in the first four-and-a-half years, with the remainder all coming in over 2015.
“For the kids involved the last year, it’s been a lot of hard work,” shared recent staff supervisor Yana Bauer. “A big part of the push was from the We Day experience,” she noted.
In October, a number of students attended We Day Toronto thanks to tickets supplied by fellow committee member Sandi Kuntsi, who had that summer travelled to Kenya through Free the Children to live and work for 20 days, building schools, homes, digging wells and transporting water. They left We Day feeling inspired with ideas flowing freely on the drive there and back, Ms. Bauer explained.
They made up their mind that the goal was doable and that they could make it happen, she added.
This June the entire SHARE/Go Green executive will graduate from MSS, making the completion of this project so important. For some, like Max Chapman and Rebecca Dawson, this goal has taken up their entire high school career.
“For the young students just starting out, it’s very empowering,” Ms. Bauer shared.
Ms. Bauer thanked the entire Manitoulin community for supporting the project by supporting fundraisers and attending the Christmas craft sale. Students could also pop into Madame Desbiens’ classroom to purchase pencils or hot drinks from Café Haiti with all proceeds going to the Brick by Brick campaign.
The whole school got behind the Haitian school too with friendly homeroom rivalries developing during the Give Change to Make Change project to see who could donate the most. SHARE/Go Green staff lead Madame Chantal Desbiens’ class took that honour.
“It’s a bad reputation that teens often have, that they don’t want to help others and they’re selfish, but when push comes to shove, they do want to help others,” Ms. Bauer said.
This is not SHARE/Go Green’s first initiative, having raised $8,500 to build a school in Sierra Leone, $5,000 for a well in the same village as well as another $5,000 for alternative incomes for women, also in Sierra Leone.
Rebecca and Max both shared their happiness at having realized the $10,000 goal before they leave MSS.
“I’m really excited,” Rebecca said. “It’s been an amazing experience, knowing that this project has been going on for five-and-a-half years. To be able to work really hard, complete the project and pull it all together is very satisfying.”
Madame Desbiens noted the group’s hard work, which she has overseen for most of that time, including putting on the Christmas play ‘Rolling in Dough and Mistletoe.’ (The rights were purchased by Rebecca’s parents.) She also noted the group’s many other ventures, including the selling of Vesey’s bulbs, a coffee house, silent auction, change drives, ‘Mondays suck’ sucker drives and so much more.
“I even had students donate part of their paycheques,” she explained of the homeroom change drive.
With an entire semester still to go, and more fundraisers planned, the committee will soon meet to discuss what’s next for SHARE/Go Green. “There are a lot of wonderful Me to We projects,” Rebecca said.
Max noted that the committee has had a lot of support through Twitter (@sharegogreen, he urges readers to follow them).
“For them to give of their time the way they do, which is so limited, is just amazing,” said a proud Madame Desbiens.
