Whether organizing a 5-K color run , holding a food drive or raising money to buy books , students in one Forest Hills High School class are making a difference in Union County .
“ It has been really nice to know that we are able to do things and use our abilities , that we ’ re given to help people who don ’ t have those abilities ,” said Forest Hills senior Avery Selby . “ It ’ s just nice to know that we can do something to help others .”
Avery is one of 26 students in Forest Hill High School ’ s Honors Global Citizen class . Since the beginning of the 2016- 17 school year , students raised more than $ 4,000 , and collected about 3,500 products like books , canned goods and items to fill care packages .
“ I ’ m extremely proud ,” said teacher Bryan Rudolph . “ I couldn ’ t be more proud . There are so many lessons that can be learned that are beyond textbooks and tablets . One of the main lessons they learned was the importance of giving back to others .”
The class , broken into four groups of about six students each , chose a local non-profit agency to help : Union County Community Shelter , Union County Crisis Assistance Ministries , ARC of Union County , and Union County Literacy Council .
Students applied for Service Learning Initiative Grants from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction , and received a total of $ 4,220 . With the grant dollars , each group held two or three events to promote awareness , raise money and / or gather the donations of goods .
“ Learning is more than just about textbooks ,” Rudolph said . “ These students gained an appreciation for what really matters , and that ’ s being able to help and assist others .”
Forest Hills student Aleah Cady said her group learned a lot from helping Union County Crisis Assistance Ministries . They not only raised $ 535 in cash to give the agency , but they also gathered 800 cans of food and 750 items that filled 40 care packages .
“ Sometimes you take what you have for granted , but to be able to help others really helps you realize what you have and what to be thankful for ,” Aleah said . “ We ’ re not sure how many families we helped , but we know that 800 cans can feed a lot of people .”
Carman Crook , a senior , saw first hand the impact students could have on the community after collecting 1,000 canned
2 • Mar / Apr 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine
Helping others is life lesson for Forest Hills High School students
Forest Hills High School ’ s Honors Global Citizen Class raised more than $ 4,000 and collected more than 3,500 items to fill care packages .
items and raising $ 764 for the Union County Community Shelter .
“ It ’ s important to me and my group that we got to make a difference . We ’ re so blessed to have a home to go to , a bed to sleep in at night and food in our pantries ,” Carman said . “ Some suffer from homelessness , or may have a home but no bed to sleep in or no food in their pantry . They suffer from these problems . It ’ s important for us to give back because no one makes it through life without a little help .”
Forest Hills junior Kristina Whitley ’ s group focused on helping the Union County Literacy Council , but they didn ’ t stop there . The group also donated hundreds of books to West Lumberton Elementary School in light of damage caused by Hurricane Matthew .
Forest Hills High School students Aleah Cady and Madilyn Beachum collect canned goods .
“ The hurricane wiped out their library ,” Kristina said . “ It was really humbling to see the ruins the hurricane left their town in . I got to see first-hand how grateful they were
continued on page 3