Washington Student Council gathers school supplies for Hurricane Harvey victims
Students in Goodman Elementary School near Houston, TX, will know they have some friends in Washington, PA. Washington High School Student Council is coordinating a collection of school supplies from their district and the community to send to Goodman Elementary in September.
According to Jessica Ott, faculty advisor to the Washington High Student Council, “Our 25 student council members are collecting such things as notebooks, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, glue sticks, kid scissors, construction paper, and gently used children’s books, through Friday, Sept. 22.”
Ott explained that she had met Texas children’s author Rachael Peters several years ago at a conference in Washington, D.C., and has kept in contact with her. Peters sent emails about the need for assistance at various schools damaged by Hurricane Harvey, and Goodman was one of the schools. It is a school in the Fort Bend Independent School District.
Ott said that “Goodman’s students are having classes in various organization buildings and it will likely be that way for several months as their school is cleaned up and repaired from the damages. Many basic school supplies, as well as their library reading books were lost. Classroom textbooks will be covered under the school’s insurance, but the need for basic items and storybooks exists.”
Washington High Student Council members plan to write notes of encouragement and support for the elementary students who will receive the supplies. Ott said, “They will include notes on storybooks to let them know how much they enjoyed those books growing up and make the donation more personal.”
Hurricane victims are getting their homes cleaned out, looking for furniture, clothes and personal items first. School supplies may be the last thing they think of, but the students will need them to get back on track. That’s where the “school to school” approach can make a difference.
“Our goal is to send as many school supplies as the almost 700 students at Goodman Elementary will need.” Ott said.