Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) reached unprecedented levels with its efforts during its week-long focus from April 6-10 on United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2, Universal Primary Education. After raising over $14,000 in its fight against poverty in the fall, GEO concentrated its efforts on activism this spring. Over 200 students signed a petition created by GEO supporting Education for All, an act that aims to bolster the U.S.’s involvement in the international effort to provide all children with a quality basic education. A group of students – GEO president David Kastelman, Gr. 12 and members Shefali Netke, Gr. 11, Ariel Fishman, Gr. 11 and Katie Forsberg, Gr. 10 – met with U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren to present her with the petition.
Fishman was inspired by the trip. “I thought she was very friendly and helpful in letting us know what we could do to ensure provisions for worldwide primary education in the Foreign Relations Act,” she said. “Representative Lofgren also loved that we were high school students taking an active interest in a cause and I would encourage other students who are passionate about various issues to meet with her in order to find out what they can do to change things. She made me feel like we, a couple of high school students, really did have the power to change the world.”
“When we asked Representative Lofgren about steps Congress can take to promote universal access to education, she suggested the ongoing task of rewriting America’s Foreign Assistance Act,” said Kastelman. “The act hasn’t been reformed in decades, and it essentially governs America’s international aid, and there has been talk of incorporating the MDG’s into the act,” he explained. “She also said that if we got her another petition on this matter of reforming the Assistance act, she could hand deliver it to Howard Berman, the representative heading efforts to rewrite the act.”
A new petition was promptly constructed and was put up for signing on May 4. Over 100 Harker students had added their signatures before it was presented to Lofgren two weeks later.
Harker’s Global Empowerment Organization (GEO) wound up a week-long program to raise awareness of global primary education in mid-April.
The second of two programs about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) this year, this program included a speaker’s forum, a simulation exercise, a phone-in to President Barack Obama’s office and a petition. The phone-in and petition urged lawmakers’ support of the Fast Track Initiative and the Education for All Act – two Measures which target providing access to education for all children. Earlier this year, GEO targeted the MDG to eliminate poverty and raised $14,000 to build a school in rural China (Harker News, Dec. ’08, p. 25).
“One of the novel parts of the week was the focus on activism,” said senior David Kastelman, GEO president. The club’s adoption of MDG 2 “fit particularly well with our plan to focus on education and activism in the spring, as there has been past legislation supporting universal primary education,” he explained. “And the message of students advocating for students resonates particularly well.” The speaker’s forum featured four experts with direct concerns to global education: Kim Plewes of Free the Children; John Tupper, a lobbyist who works to advance such issues in the U.S. Congress; Jennifer Getz, founder of the Africa-based eduWeavers, and Mark McKenna, associate director of San Jose State University’s Global Studies Program. Kastelman acted as host and facilitator of the presentation to the US student body.
The Wednesday long lunch featured a simulation exercise on Rosenthal Field in which students moved from station to station and participated in brief activities which “ranged from throwing a coin in a ‘government budget’ cup to being timed on an obstacle course that represented the transportation obstacles for students in foreign countries,” said junior Christine Trinh, GEO secretary. “They were competitive and offered a challenge, which are aspects that definitely drive Harker students.”
“I loved the enthusiasm and spirit of the students who participated in the simulation,” said GEO member Josephine Chen, Gr. 10. “Many started competing with their friends to see who would win each of the activities.” Chef Steve Martin helped enhance participation in the simulation by serving lunch outdoors and approximately 70 students took part. The week culminated with a rousing Multicultural Assembly (see below). Kastelman, along with the GEO activism committee, met with U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren on April 16 and hand-delivered their petition – signed by over 200 students and faculty.
Alex Han, Gr. 11 has been named one of the top runners-up in the 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards in California, and, as a Distinguished Finalist, will receive an engraved medallion to commemorate the award at an assembly in March. Han also qualifies for the President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizing Americans of all ages who have volunteered for at least 100 hours of community service. Han spent two summers volunteering in Seoul, South Korea, assisting adults afflicted with Downs Syndrome and autism. Han helped with cooking and cleaning and assissted individuals to participate in sports, music, language and art classes.
There were only 234 finalists named out of over 5,000 local honorees, nationwide. “The recipients of these awards vividly demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities, said John R. Strangerfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “They truly deserve all of the praise and encouragement we can give them.” The Presidents Award is via the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. More details on the Prudential award can be found on their Web site.
Harker students have a long tradition of contributing to worthy causes, but they more than out did themselves during Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) Week in November when proceeds more than quadrupled the original goal.
The fundraising activities, as noted in the San Jose Mercury News Online, administered by members of the campus GEO club, ranged from vows of silence by students to the hilarious but lucrative pig-kissing commitment by faculty members. The result? Enough money was raised not only to supply about 50 pigs to rural farmers to bring them above the poverty level, but, ultimately, enough to build an entire school serving up to 500 children. The final amount was more than $14,000, a stunning result in these hard economic times.
A critical component of the effort was GEO’s efforts to educate students on the conditions in China the group hoped to alleviate by providing pigs to help farmers climb above the poverty level. The GEO week kick-off began the Friday before with a talk by Kim Plewes, international youth coordinator for Free the Children, a Toronto-based organization assisting families around the world to escape poverty by harnessing the energy of North American youths.
Plewes traveled from Toronto in early December to accept the oversized check and thank the students in person for their hard work and generosity. “This is remarkable,” she said in front of an assembly of students. “We have not had a single school in Northern California in the last two, three, four years remotely raise this much this much money in an entire year, and you did it in a single week.”
Along with the vow of silence pledges and pig-kissing contest, student fundraising included a beverage and tote bag sale and, to raise awareness, a millennium development goal scavenger hunt trivia contest on poverty and China.
Funds will go to Gansu province in China where alternative income efforts include providing pigs to farmers and training the farmers on their care. That extra income often allows the children to go to school along with reducing hunger and improving living conditions.
“We are amazed at the week that the GEO club at Harker was able to put together in just three short months,” said Plewes. “We haven’t seen this level of organization and successful execution of such a diverse number of fundraising and awareness raising events from any other group in California.
“On behalf of the entire Free The Children team, I would like to thank the GEO club for all of the effort and creativity that they demonstrated during the amazing week that happened recently. We are blown away by the support and energy from the Harker community for our programming in China. Thank you!”
A dozen Harker students, staff and alumni volunteered at an inaugural fundraising event held by The Wellness Community – Silicon Valley (TWCSV) to honor professional, volunteer and family caregivers. Filmed and broadcast by Comcast Cable, over 300 attended the event that honored 22 caregivers, and raised $38,000 for the organization. Harker students and staff assisted with the silent and oral auctions, distributed honoree gifts, and took photographs at the event. They were: Margaret Krackeler, Daniela Lapidous, Ishika Peravali, Gr. 9; Tracey Chan, Pierre Gerard, Araby Martin, Erica Woolsey, Gr. 10; Mark-Phillip Pebworth, Gr. 11; Emily Carr, Gr. 12; Jessica Liu ’04; and Chris Collins and Pam Dickinson, staff.
“Attendees and committee members alike commented on how responsible, caring and poised our students were,” said Dickinson. Karen Storey, executive director of TWCSV said, “Everything went so smoothly with their help. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
The STAR Caregivers Awards recognize and support the work of individuals and organizations that provide care that makes a difference in the quality of life for cancer patients and their loved ones. TWCSV provides education and support services at no charge to individuals and families facing cancer. For more information about the organization, visit www.svwellness.org.
Members of Harker’s Junior State of America organization spent the afternoon of Oct. 11 getting out the vote at the Valley Fair mall in anticipation for the Nov. 4 general elections. The JSA registered a total of 42 new voters in about four hours.
The idea to hold the drive in a more public place was introduced at last year’s drive, also held at Valley Fair. “The main problem is that there aren’t enough students who meet the age requirement at a single time,” said JSA member Mahum Jamal, Gr. 12. “So we decided to expand our focus by holding the drive in a fairly public community.”
In addition to voter drives, the JSA also holds weekly meetings and miniconventions, where students have debates, discuss politics, feature guest speakers and hold an occasional workshop. On Nov. 4, the JSA held a “Pizza and Politics” event, where students enjoyed pizza while watching coverage of the general election. During commercial breaks, students discussed the ongoing events. This year, the JSA also plans to stage screenings of politically-oriented films and hold discussions afterward.
JSA stayed busy during the summer as well, holding a fundraising car wash and sending members to attend the Democratic and Republican conventions (see HN Oct. issue). For the 2007-08 school year, the Harker JSA was named Chapter of the Year for the Northern California region. Jamal said that although politics affect everyone in some way, high school students remain uninterested in the political process. “JSA attempts to bring politics to high school students in ways that students can relate to and enjoy,” she said. “We try and find a more comprehensive way for students to understand [the] U.S. today.” Jamal said she chose to get involved with the JSA because she wanted to bring information on governmental matters “to a generation soon to make the decisions of the world. As a cliché goes, we are the future leaders of America.”
Over the summer, the World Awareness Committee (WAC), which recently became Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO), donated a grand total of $7,400 to the Aid to Children Without Parents (ACWP) charity. The money will be put toward a new school for disadvantaged children in Cambodia.
Neha Sabharwal, Gr. 12, who served as WAC co-vice president last year, said the organization chose to donate to ACWP “not only because it was like the ‘underdog’ group but also because its mission and aims are so fundamentally concrete. This program is all about making lasting, tangible solutions.”
“We were really moved by the ACWP cause,” said Niti Shah, Gr. 11, who was WAC co-vice president last year, and currently serves as vice president of GEO. The organization sprang into action after watching an NBC news special on child sex trafficking. “Many of us didn’t know that it was going on and scarring the lives of girls by the thousands.”
The ACWP purchased the future school’s property, formerly the location of a brothel. When finished, it will provide a basic education to children residing in nearby villages. “[The ACWP was] extremely grateful for the donation,” said Shah.
To raise the money, WAC held a number of events, such as visits by ACWP representatives, a benefit concert, a dance and a student auction. Throughout the year, WAC also sold buttons, T-shirts and CDs containing music made by Harker students. WAC managed to raise about $6,000 on their own, and the amount was bumped to $7,400 after a number of anonymous donations.
GEO will hold its first fundraising and education week Nov. 10-14. The theme for the week will be the hunger and extreme poverty, which is first on the list of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. GEO will also begin fundraising for Free the Children, an organization based on youth empowerment and providing alternative sources of income for individuals worldwide.
Over the summer, the World Awareness Committee (WAC), which recently became Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO), donated a grand total of $7,400 to the Aid to Children Without Parents (ACWP) charity. The money will be put toward a new school for disadvantaged children in Cambodia.
Neha Sabharwal, Gr. 12, who served as WAC co-vice president last year, said the organization chose to donate to ACWP “not only because it was like the ‘underdog’ group but also because its mission and aims are so fundamentally concrete. This program is all about making lasting, tangible solutions.”
“We were really moved by the ACWP cause,” said Niti Shah, Gr. 11, who was WAC co-vice president last year, and currently serves as vice president of GEO. The organization sprang into action after watching an NBC news special on child sex trafficking. “Many of us didn’t know that it was going on and scarring the lives of girls by the thousands.”
The ACWP purchased the future school’s property, formerly the location of a brothel. When finished, it will provide a basic education to children residing in nearby villages. “[The ACWP was] extremely grateful for the donation,” said Shah.
To raise the money, WAC held a number of events, such as visits by ACWP representatives, a benefit concert, a dance and a student auction. Throughout the year, WAC also sold buttons, T-shirts and CDs containing music made by Harker students. WAC managed to raise about $6,000 on their own, and the amount was bumped to $7,400 after a number of anonymous donations.
GEO will hold its first fundraising and education week Nov. 10-14. The theme for the week will be the hunger and extreme poverty, which is first on the list of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. GEO will also begin fundraising for Free the Children, an organization based on youth empowerment and providing alternative sources of income for individuals worldwide.
Tanya Schmidt ’08 and her sister, Sylvia ’06 – Team Lokahi – recently completed the two-day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in San Francisco July 12-13, raising over $6,000 in donations of the total $7.9 million raised over the weekend.
“I want to thank each one of you for supporting us,” said Tanya, who explained that their team name means “unity” and “togetherness” in Hawaiian. “No matter what difficulties you face in life, we believe that if you have someone supporting and encouraging you along the way, you can make it through, so we decided to help fight the battle against cancer together.”
The event was a marathon and a half – 39.3 miles – divided up with 26.2 miles on the first day, and 13.1 miles on the second – that started in San Francisco, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County, and ended up in Crissy Fields to spend where participants spent the night in tents. The second day’s route wound through San Francisco and finished back where the walk started in Golden Gate Park. Tanya recounts her experience:
“By the end of the second day, my legs and feet hurt, but the pain I felt is nothing compared to the pain that the families affected by cancer feel every day. As one of the posters along the route said, ‘Blisters don’t need chemo.’ On the second day of our walk, after climbing up and down some brutal San Francisco hills, we passed by the San Francisco Avon Medical Breast Center, the site where much of the money I have raised will go to directly help members of our local communities. It was very touching to see the nurses and patients line up along the sidewalk outside of the medical center to cheer us on with high fives and many heartfelt thank yous. Your support helped me get there, and I am so grateful and appreciative.
“As I crossed the finish line arm in arm with an Irish lady who I had just met a couple hours earlier, I realized my favorite part of the weekend: the feeling that no matter what struggles you encounter in life, you never have to be alone. The statistics are sad. Every three minutes, another woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, and every 14 minutes, breast cancer takes the life of another person. During the time that I spent walking this weekend, the lives of 670 women have been forever changed with the news that they have breast cancer. With the support of people like you, however, we can change the statistics for the better. Together, we can draw strength from hope, and together, we can cure cancer.” Both dedicated their efforts this year to the family of John Near, a 30-year Harker history teacher who is battling colon cancer.
The Harker Environmental and Animal Rights Team (HEART) was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition May 18 as winners of Rep. Mike Honda’s Go Green Contest.
The competition, sponsored by Honda’s Student Advisory Council and engaged area high schools, prompted students to reduce their school’s carbon footprint. At Harker, this was “the PSI effort”: a team of students checked and corrected the tire pressure of about 50 vehicles on the Harker campuses. HEART estimates the effort offset 3,232.83 kg of carbon entering the atmosphere – equivalent to having planted 147 trees. Representative Honda called the initiative “truly groundbreaking and innovative.”