Rockford schools look to make impact with many hands, loose change

From press release

Students in Rockford Public Schools are beginning to rally around the Million Meals for Haiti project being coordinated by Sharefest, the volunteer coalition that helps refurbish schools each summer.

An all-school “Quarters for the Quake” campaign started Tuesday with the arrival in each building of 5-gallon water-cooler bottles affixed with the campaign logo. Money raised through the quarter drive will go toward the cost of the million meals being packaged by volunteers with Sharefest, a charitable arm of Heartland Community Church.

Rockford’s four traditional high schools also will serve as packing locations–East and Auburn on March 11 and Guilford and Jefferson on March 12. During the day, students will assist in mixing the rice, powdered soy and dried vegetables, sealing the contents in plastic bags and boxing the meals for shipment. From 4 to 8 p.m., the schools will be open to community members who wish to help package meals. The project concludes with packing sessions Saturday, March 13, and Sunday, March 14, at Heartland Community Church.

Superintendent LaVonne M. Sheffield said the collaboration provides a real-world lesson for students in the value of community service. “If every student donates one quarter, Rockford schools can underwrite the costs of more than 125,000 meals for the people of Haiti,” she said. “And that says nothing of the many hands we can provide to help lighten the load as far as the packing is concerned.”

Each package costs $1 to produce and provides one meal for 17 people; nearly 30,000 students are enrolled in Rockford schools. Students at Lathrop Elementary School came up with “Quarters for the Quake” as the name for a collection that has already taken place.

For more information, call Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) at (972-4357 (HELP).

From the Mar. 10-16, 2010 issue