Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM Holiday 2017 Final | Page 32

Hurricane Harvey
Doll 'Victim'
Replaced by Indiana Girl
"Amy" of League City Elementary shows off her new
baby doll donated by Sydney Wiley to Communities
In Schools-Bay Area for helping a child affected by
Hurricane Harvey.
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS-BAY AREA              
Doing Whatever It Takes to Keep Kids in School
Contact Diane Gillebaard 281-334-2132

When someone is in need of spare change or a warm hug, 5-year-old Sydney
Wiley of Indianapolis, IN, asks her mother Courtney Wiley how she can help.
While most children Sydney's age are mastering tying their shoes, the
compassionate Kindergartner has begun her mastery of empathy.

When Sydney was four, she began saving money in a small bank called
a tzedakah. A tzedakah box is a Jewish tradition in which to save and donate to a
charitable cause. Courtney, sorority sister of Hillary Gramm, resource
development director of Communities In Schools-Bay Area (CIS-Bay Area), had
seen the effects Hurricane Harvey had on families in Bay Area Houston. Because
Sydney was eager to crack open her savings and help someone, her mother
suggested sending the donation to CIS-Bay Area, an organization that helps
students undergoing crisis such as natural disasters and homelessness.

A week later and from more than a 1,000 miles away, a check for $16.35 arrived
at the CIS-Bay Area office to help a child impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Peter
Wuenschel, executive director of CIS-Bay Area, decided the donation should go
to a child the same age as Sydney to replace a special item lost in the flooding.

Kaitlyn Thompson, CIS-Bay Area campus coordinator for League City
Elementary, had a student displaced and living in a hotel. The girl had been very
down about losing her blonde-haired baby doll that wore a blue dress. Six-year-
old "Amy" was elated when she was gifted with a new baby doll that resembles
the one she lost.

Communities In Schools-Bay Area serves 15 campuses in Clear Creek and
Dickinson ISD, doing whatever it takes to keep kids in school. For more
information on the dropout prevention program, visit www.cisba.org.
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MOMENTUM / Holiday 2017
Five-year-old Sydney Wiley of Indianapolis, IN, holds
her tzedakah bank with money she saved to donate
to help someone affected by Hurricane Harvey.