With the knowledge that there is nothing like a favorite “blankie” to comfort a suffering child, grade 7 middle school students in the advisories of Karina Momary and Julie Pinzás teamed up in early February to create blankets for donation to the South Bay chapter of Project Linus.
A volunteer-driven nonprofit organization giving blankets to children who are seriously ill or living in shelters, Project Linus works to provide a sense of security, warmth and comfort through the donation of handmade, washable blankets lovingly created by volunteer makers or “blanketeers.”
The blanket creation for Project Linus was the middle school students’ community service project for this year. Working in pairs, students produced 12 blankets for donation to the local branch of Project Linus.
To date, Project Linus has delivered more than 4,000,000 security blankets to children around the world and has nearly 400chapters in the United States. Although the organization originally donated blankets to pediatric cancer patients, recipients now include any child who is seriously ill or traumatized in some way.
“What a great opportunity to be able to use our advisory time to make a collaborative impact on our community to help children in need of comfort,” said Pinzás.
There are nearly 30 dresses in the Manzanita foyer waiting for their next prom. Sheridan Tobin, grade 10, and Shannon Hong, grade 9, took it upon themselves to solicit the donations from fellow students for the Princess Project, which promotes self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them.
“Collecting the dresses is great, but it’s really about so much more than that. It’s about boosting these girls’ self-confidence and giving them a chance to forget whatever hardships they may be going through and giving them a night that can be all about them,” explained Tobin.
“I think that sometimes we take opportunities that we are given for granted,” added Hong. “We buy a dress that we like and find the perfect accessories. Then, the dress that maybe cost a hundred dollars, is flung in the back of our closets never to see daylight again. There are plenty of girls in San Jose who would be so glad for just one nice dress.”
The dresses were delivered in early March to a local branch of the Princess Project.
For many teenage girls a huge part of their high school prom experience is picking out the perfect dress for the occasion. But, for those who cannot afford to buy a prom dress, the event can leave them filled with dread. In fact, the Princess Project began in February 2002 when one girl needed a dress for her prom.
Founders Laney Whitcanack and Kristi Smith Knutson responded to this young woman’s request for help by involving friends and family in a dress drive. Within days, women from all over the San Francisco Bay Area offered their support through donations of their “time, talent and taffeta.”
Since that time, the Princess Project has served more than 20,000 teens through the dedication of more than 2,000 volunteers. Every year, the Princess Project collects new and used dresses as well as accessories of all colors and sizes. Volunteers sort dresses and organize accessories for girls living in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and San Diego.
On Wednesday, Rohan Chandra, grade 12, was presented with an award for being a distinguished finalist by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, which annually recognizes and honors young people nationwide who have volunteered to help their communities.
Chandra created earthquake preparedness kits for the senior citizens of his Fremont neighborhood, creating safety guides in a variety of languages, including English, Spanish, Farsi, Hindi and Mandarin. “We live in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the world, so I wanted to do something to cater to different cultures,” Chandra said. With the help of dozens of volunteers, Chandra raised more than $12,000 to make the project possible.
The award came with a letter from the office of President Barack Obama, thanking Chandra for his efforts and congratulating him on being recognized. He will also receive an engraved bronze medallion in the near future.
Chandra expressed thanks to his family, friends and the Harker community, particularly Kerry Enzensperger, director of upper school community service, who assisted him in discovering this unique opportunity.
“It’s definitely really nice to be recognized,” Chandra said. “I’m just really grateful for it.”
Disgusted by the garbage that lines San Jose’s local freeways and surrounding areas, some members of the Harker community have become part of a team that dedicates one Saturday a month to litter cleanup on and around Highway 280.
Called “trashathons,” the effort is officially part of the California Adopt-A-Highway Program.
Upper school history teacher Carol Zink discovered the program and made Harker aware of it. Now she is joined by fellow faculty, parents and students in the litter roundup. The last trash pick-up day took place on Jan. 19, with the next one slated to occur on Feb. 16.
Crew members, who must be at least 16 years old or have written parental consent to join the monthly effort, meet and collect their gear (a bright yellow safety vest, hard hat, gloves, goggles, pick-up stick and supply of big trash bags) at the corner of Leigh and Moorpark, across from San Jose City College. At the end of each road beautification session, which run for several hours in the morning, the volunteer workers head over to Round Table Pizza on Bascom where they are treated to pizza and soft drinks.
“We hope to get more volunteers,” said Zink, who joined in the program last spring after reading about it in a local newspaper. She then contacted the organizer and asked if she and her crew could pick up trash along the ramps leading to and from Harker to 280.
“The weather has been pretty rainy lately and we had a short crew last month because of rain in some parts of the valley,” she added, hoping the next cleanup day will be sunny.
Over the years, the trash warriors have picked up some interesting finds during their trashathons, including a loaded shotgun shell (turned over to the police), a pair of nearly new high heels, an expensive motorcycle helmet, and a rubber Halloween mask.
For many children bedtime means snuggling up in cozy pajamas and reading a favorite bedtime story. Yet for youngsters in need, even something as basic as curling up with a good book in comfy jammies can be wishful thinking.
For the past six years, to make life a bit better for children living in shelters locally, Harker’s lower school has held donation drives for the Pajama Program, a nationally run nonprofit organization dedicated to providing new pajamas and books to kids waiting to be adopted.
The school recently donated hundreds of pairs of pajamas and five boxes of books to the program which this year ran from Jan. 7-18. While the exact final numbers are still being counted, Pallie Zambrano, co-president of the Pajama Program’s Northern and Central California chapter, reported that this year’s drive brings Harker’s total donations to more than 2,000 pairs of pajamas and 2,400 books.
The Bucknall campus pajama and book drive is held during the heart of winter, when needy children especially want to keep warm. This year, Harker students donated a range of books and pajamas (with the tags still on) in sizes ranging from toddler through young adult. Although the drive was primarily a grade 3 service project, all elementary school families were invited to participate by dropping off donated items in a designated area in the gym’s lobby.
Meanwhile, the students’ homeroom teachers explained how much their donations would benefit children who are less fortunate. Parents were also encouraged to help their children become involved in the project by taking them to the store to pick out donation items themselves.
The much beloved program began six years ago at the suggestion of Rishi Narain, a former lower school student and current freshman at the upper school. He got the idea for the project when he was in grade 3, after watching the “Oprah” show. The show’s guest that day was Genevieve Piturro, founder of the Pajama Program. Watching her discuss it motivated Narain to bring the cause to Harker, where he helped organize the inaugural donation drive, which went on to become an annual occurrence.
Kathy Ferretti, a grade 3 teacher who has been involved with the program since its inception, called the project a wonderful example of how one student has the power to make a difference. In fact, she noted that Sarah Leonard, primary school head, still has the original letter that Narain wrote with his suggestion to collect donations for the Pajama Program.
“This was the sixth year in a row that Harker has held a drive and we are so grateful for the continued support. We love working with children to help other children!” enthused Zambrano.
“Our third graders love to read and be read to, especially at bedtime. It’s something they look forward to with pleasure. They hope that by participating in the pajama and book drive more children will be able to enjoy this experience, too,” added Ferretti.
To learn more about about the Pajama Program, visit their website at www.pajamaprogram.org.
What began as a holiday seasonal community project has evolved into a larger, new schoolwide outreach program called HarKare (Harker Cares).
HarKare launched with its first project, making ornaments to accompany Christmas trees already slated to be donated from the lower, middle and upper school campuses to underprivileged families. During the holiday season Harker has Christmas trees or wreaths in nearly all of its 200 classrooms. This year, some 45 teachers volunteered to preserve their trees so they could be given out as part of the donation program.
To that end, about 40 Harker parents and children of varying ages took time out on a Sunday in December to gather for the ornament-making event, which had been earlier promoted by grade level coordinators. Using recycled paper, students in Pat Walsh’s grade 5 math class also contributed to the HarKare project by making paper hut ornaments.
“HarKare will create opportunities for kids and whole families to participate in all sorts of community projects going on all year, not just during the holiday season,” enthused Tere Aceves, lower school volunteer program director at Harker.
“This is not going to be another drive at our school but is going to be an ongoing program,” she elaborated, adding that the goal of HarKare is to create family involvement for community service projects, teach kids the value of giving and helping others and “use our creativity, elbow grease and spirits to make a difference.”
Already, HarKare members have tossed around a number of ideas for future projects including collecting clothes and household goods for those in need, preparing meals for the homeless, and helping local neighborhoods in a myriad of other ways.
“These are all very easy and really rewarding projects,” noted Aceves. “We are striving to involve our kids and teach them values coming from the heart.”
In February there will be two HarKare initiatives running nearly simultaneously: a book exchange on Feb. 8 and a volunteer effort with the organization Sea Scavenger the following day.
“Not only will Harker students give back to their community by cleaning up local waterways, but they will give back to the world by preventing plastic pollution from reaching the oceans,” said Aceves, adding that students may subsequently take on leadership roles to help create such awareness, shifting cultural values away from a disposable plastic society.
Sea Scavenger has been named the official shoreline restoration and clean-up partner of the 34th annual America’s Cup, which takes place in San Francisco this year. Together, with Sea Scavenger volunteers, HarKare participants will work collaboratively with sailors and staff from the America’s Cup teams in support of marine ecosystems.
Those interested in becoming involved with the upcoming book exchange, shoreline clean-up, and other future activities of the new HarKare program are urged to contact Aceves at terea@harker.org for more information.
A contingent of Harker students had the unique opportunity to hear six-time Olympic medalist, motivational speaker and foundation founder Jackie Joyner-Kersee give the keynote address at this year’s local YWCA luncheon.
A longtime supporter of the YWCA of Silicon Valley’s annual luncheon event, Harker has regularly hosted a table for upper school students who have a special passion for that year’s topic.
As one of the most decorated female athletes of all time, Joyner-Kersee serves as a role model for girls and women alike. She dominated the track and field circuit for 13 years and won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals, spanning four Olympic games during her illustrious career.
The YWCA’s 21st annual luncheon was held in October at the Santa Clara Convention Center, with event proceeds supporting the group’s much lauded services. Each year, more than 40 companies and hundreds of individuals sponsor the YWCA’s luncheon. Past speakers have included Isabelle Allende, Gloria Steinem, Sally Ride, Janet Reno and Mary Lou Retton. Next year’s keynote address with Dr. Jane Goodall is anticipated to draw a sell-out crowd.
Harker students this year had the good fortune to meet with former Olympic medalists Anne Warner Cribbs and Marilyn King, who were special guests at the event. Cribbs won a gold medal for swimming and King was a two-time Olympian in the grueling five event Pentathlon.
The mission of the YWCA is to empower women, children and families, and to eliminate racism, hatred and prejudice. The organization provides programs in the areas of sexual assault intervention and prevention, counseling services, domestic violence, child care, youth programs, family services, and social and racial justice.
The YWCA serves nearly 18,000 Santa Clara County residents each year, and has provided services across the county for more than 100 years. More information can be found at www.ywca-sv.org.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Students Clean Up the Coast
Almost 50 community members stepped up in September for the 26th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. Inspired by this year’s lower school theme of compassion, parent volunteer Kelly Lewis Brezoczky (Katherine, grade 3; Charlotte, grade 5; Emma, grade 7) coordinated Harker’s participation, and service and spirit club advisor Katie Molin invited grade 4 and 5 families to help pick up debris littered across Pillar Point and Pilarcitos Creek in Half Moon Bay.
Youth Citizen of the Year
Tara Rezvani, grade 12, was recognized at Los Gatos’ Youth Park Citizen Day on Sept. 29 as one of Los Gatos’ Youth Citizens of the Year. Among Rezvani’s many accomplishments are organizing a health camp for children, volunteer work at El Camino Hospital and induction to the National French Honor Society.
Collecting Food for the Needy
The Service Club at the middle school ran a canned food drive and, for each item, students were given a strip of construction paper to hang in the windows of Activity Avenue to create a colorful, proud display of Harker’s giving spirit. The lower school also ran their annual food drive, organized for more than 20 years as the grade 5 service project by teacher Pat Walsh. Donations all went to St. Justin’s Church in Santa Clara. Walsh noted St. Justin’s provides groceries and hot meals all year long.
Advisories Help Prep Toiletries for Donation
Pat White, middle school history teacher, ran a toiletry drive again this year for the gloria Travis Center for Homeless Women and Children. White’s advisory sorts and bags donated items for delivery. White hopes to deliver about 500 sandwich bags of toiletries.
Holiday Gift Giving in Full Swing
Three different programs collected gifts for those in need. Family Supportive Housing, which runs the Adopt-a-Family program, collects holiday wish lists from families in need which are distributed to those who want to help out during the holiday season.
The Family Giving Tree matches givers up to individuals rather than families. This is Harker’s third year participating. Patricia Lai Burrows, an English teacher at the middle school, said, “Last year, we successfully fulfilled 200 wishes, and this year, I signed up to fulfill 350 wishes.” Currently, Harker is on track to fulfill 400.
Sunday Friends, a nonprofit that helps families in need, put together a list of holiday gift items their families would enjoy. The sophomore class used this year’s homecoming theme of Disney movies for inspiration and selected “Toy Story.” They made a giant toy box featuring characters from the movie, and each of the 185 members of the sophomore class donated a toy for Sunday Friends.
Giving to Our Furry Friends
Andrea Milius and Mark Gelineau, middle school teachers, wanted to do something special for this year’s family picnic theme of “Paws, Jaws and Claws” (click here for the picnic wrapup). They encouraged their advisories to do chores at home to earn money and then split the $230 in earnings between National Geographic’s campaign, “Create an Uproar” to save big cats, and a wolf pack at a sanctuary in Mississippi.
Hurricane Sandy Relief
The lower school took initiative in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and connected with Coney Island Preparatory School in New York, where 30 students lost their homes and 30 more families lost their cars. The administration at Coney Island Preparatory is offering storm victims modest grants. To help them achieve this goal, the student council at the lower school sold cups of hot chocolate on the playground over the course of several days and took donations. Business was brisk, and the entire amount was donated directly to the Coney Island Preparatory families.
Rohan Chandra, grade 12, was recently named the first-place winner of the Kids Who Give contest for the period ending Sept. 30. The Kids Who Give program, sponsored by Farm Rich, recognizes young citizens who devise solutions to help their local communities. Chandra created the Earthquake Preparedness for Seniors project for the senior citizens of his Fremont neighborhood, whom he felt would be particularly vulnerable in the event of a major earthquake. He even created an instructional safety guide in no fewer than six languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, Farsi and Tagalog, which are also the most commonly used languages in the Bay Area. In order to fund the project, Chandra raised more than $10,000. To date, more than 1,000 copies of the guide and more than 250 earthquake kits have been distributed.
As a quarterly winner, Chandra will be awarded $3,500 and has been entered into a voting competition that will take place in early 2013, the winner of which will be awarded a grand prize of $10,000.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Harker’s youngest students are using the holiday season to learn about being thankful, giving back to their local communities, and the joy that comes from helping those less fortunate.
Kicking off the first of their community service projects in late October, the kindergarten students helped care for their lower school campus by picking fallen pomegranates from the school grounds to prevent the fruit from becoming an eyesore and hazard. This campus beautification project began in 2009 and is part of the youngsters’ overall service projects; they also participate in tree-planting each year.
The annual kindergarten tree planting at the Bucknall campus is a beloved tradition that began on the Saratoga campus. According to Sarah Leonard, primary division head, tree planting gives the children the opportunity to leave kindergarten with something that “serves as a living memory of their first year at Harker.”
Additionally, every winter, the lower school sponsors a canned food and toy drive, in which kindergartners take part. The importance of giving back and feeding the hungry is a lesson that many kindergarten teachers further tied into curriculum surrounding the holiday season.
The toy drive affords kindergartners the chance to learn, early on, the value of helping to get presents under the trees of many families who would not have otherwise been able to afford them.
In fact, last year’s drive resulted in hundreds of toys being delivered to Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose. Including Harker’s donation, more than 16,000 toys were donated, then set up and organized like a toy store for parents of children in need to choose from, resulting in a very merry Christmas day.
In November, kindergarten teacher Katherine Chi hosted a Thanksgiving feast with students and their families during her afternoon homeroom period. Held on Nov. 16, families each brought a favorite dish to share with the class, even including a bowl of macaroni and cheese for youngsters with hard-to-please palettes!
For those who wanted more traditional holiday fixings, there were also plenty of mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes and roasted turkey to choose from. And, to the delight of students, a plethora of yummy desserts, including homemade pumpkin cookies, were served as well.
However, it wasn’t the desserts that made kindergarten student Lindsey Tuckey’s mouth water. The five-year-old said what she is really thankful for is “the healthy stuff.” When asked to elaborate she noted she is especially grateful for having so much food to eat, particularly “broccoli and celery.”
Sitting next to her at a table set with colorful paper plates with turkeys on them was her father, Jeff Tuckey. He said he enjoyed being a part of the in-class celebration, sitting down with the youngsters as they enjoyed their mock Thanksgiving meal.
But it wasn’t all about the food. In addition to enjoying the sumptuous feast, Chi also had her class of 22 students take time out to discuss what they are thankful for. Previously, as part of their language arts curriculum, the kindergartners had created a journal about non-material things they are grateful for. Answers ranged from having clothes to wear and food to eat, to spending time with their family and pets.
From enjoying class holiday-themed celebrations to participating in community service projects and toy and canned food drives, kindergartners used the holiday season to its fullest – by uniting as a class, as well as helping to make the world a better place.