When a devastating earthquake struck Nepal in April, Jessie Rainwater’s sixth-grade AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) group at Chehalem Valley Middle School felt a strong connection to the isolated mountain nation.
With more than 8,000 dead and 18,000 injured, students saw parallels to Dundee and Newberg, also feeling like Newberg is surrounded by big cities Portland and Salem, while Nepal is bordered by much larger nations China and India.
“The death toll is the same size as Dundee two and a half times over and the number of injured or missing people is almost the exact size of the population of Newberg,” Rainwater said. “That combination of numbers has been super powerful for them to get tuned in and connected.”
But the class has done much more than reflect on the tragedy, mobilizing with CV’s sixth grade social studies classes to organize fundraisers that have so far collected $2,500 to support the work of Medical Teams International in the small Asian nation.
“All of the social media, all of the fundraising outside of the school has been 100 percent student thought of, created and planned out,” Rainwater said. “They have really taken ownership of it. (Social studies teacher) Kim McDonough and I have just facilitated the go-to between adults.”
The main fundraiser has been making and selling their own version of Nepalese peace flags, which feature words of support, like “#CVlovesNepal,” instead of the traditional prayers or Hindu good wishes.
The flags were sold in school for $4 or $10 dollars, as well as on their own crowd-funding site (gofundme.com/cvlovesnepal), which itself has raised nearly $1,500 in donations.
The flags are on display in the main hallway at CV and will remain the rest of the school year and into next fall.
“The idea is to keep them until they tatter away,” Rainwater said.
Other efforts have included selling phone passes for lunch, three plant sales, a Burgerville night, T-shirt sales, sponsorships from local businesses and a penny drive that alone collected $400.
The student also organized and ran assemblies at Chehalem Valley and Ewing Young Elementary to help spread the word.
“The big part that blew my teaching partner and I away is how much extra energy the students are putting in outside of class,” Rainwater said. “That’s all been done off campus, outside of school on their own.”
The GoFundMe campaign will continue through Thursday, but even if the overall campaign doesn’t hit its goal of $4,000, everyone involved said they feel it has been a big success.
“We set a super high goal on purpose and we’re totally flabbergasted at what’s been donated,” Rainwater said. “We’re hoping to make another $500 on the GoFundMe and reach $3,000.”
Just as importantly, it has been a powerful and empowering learning experience for the students.
“What’s been really great for them to experience is the fact that they can take on leadership roles that kind of exceed the expectations of the adults in their lives,” Rainwater said. “For a lot of them, this is the first time they have really been able to flex their leadership skills.”
Written by: Seth Gordon
