Over the last two months, members of the Daleville High School Beta Club collected $300 in pennies, loose change, and other donations for an international project, “Pennies for the Philippines.”
The project sponsered Rutchelle Enriquez, a Filipino teacher whose school in Tacloban was destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan last November.
Enriquez, a Philippines native, returned to the country as a teacher after completing her education in the United States.
Daleville Beta Club members decided to dedicate their project to helping her school after they learned about Enriquez’story and her commitment to teaching in her home country.
“It says so much about service and that it’s not always about yourself,” DHS Guidance Counselor Margie Treadwell said.
The Beta Club members hope the funds help Enriquez buy new classroom supplies for her students.
“I hope they get better opportunities to learn, and that the disaster doesn’t effect what they can learn and what they get to do,” Beta Club Secretary Jamie Watts said.
The members also hope the project inspires global awareness and a desire to serve others among the student body.
“It (the project) helps students understand that sometimes people are less fortunate,” Beta Club President Julius Hammond said.
Beta Club Vice President Grace Tingey said service opportunities like this one were also beneficial to all Daleville students.
“It’s a really good way for students to understand community pride,” Tingey said of service projects. “Service learning is always a really important part of a child’s development, I feel.”
The club will send Enriquez the collected funds this week.
The National Beta Club is the nation’s largest independent, non-profit, educational youth organization. Its mission is to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among elementary and high school students.
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