Number of Participants: 6
Hours Donated: 40
Value of Time Served: $2,028
Event Type: Poverty & Homelessness
Sport: Team
Date: September 1, 2017
Location:
West Islip
NY, United States
About:
This past summer, a dozen students – all now seniors – from West Islip High School participated with teacher Noreen Matthews in the school’s seventh annual service trip to Guatemala with Common Hope. Eric Besanceney, Krista Ciccarelli, Mary Connolly, Alexa DePaola, Melodi Doganay, Mark Gellar, Holly Hohorst, Michelle Kurkela, Jack Magee, Tricia Mueller, Grace Schaefer and Abby Weintz raised more than $8,000 as a team for Common Hope.
The Minnesota-based Common Hope sends teams of volunteers to Guatemala to build houses for families in need. According to Matthews, Common Hope promotes education by supporting Guatemalan families and encouraging parents to keep their kids in school. Most students in Guatemala are forced to end their education at sixth grade due to financial responsibilities.
“While in country, we built a one-room house for a family of six,” said Matthews. “We also visited a school and participated in cultural exchange activities like teaching dancing and painting lessons to the local teens.”
The 12 students were honored at a recent West Islip Board of Education meeting.
WI Common Hope: A dozen West Islip High School seniors were honored by the Board of Education for raising more than $8,000 for Common Hope and participating in the group’s service trip to Guatemala.
Photo courtesy of the West Islip School District
