Riverside School will hold its third annual community service event, “Holidays for Haiti” virtually this year from Nov 2-16.
Students and interested participants will be matched up with over 350 Haitian children in need.
Sponsorship of each child will include creating a personalized card, sending donations, and sending a range of necessities such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, socks and clothes.
As part of Riverside School’s community service initiative that aims to engage students in activities that connect them to communities in need, Holidays for Haiti was originally developed as an after-school assembly.
Riverside students and families created cards, raise funds and packaged items for children at “Danita’s Children,” a local elementary school in Haiti that educates over 300 students in grades K-13.
Last year over 350 packets were assembled and $6,000 was raised.
To continue the progress the event has made, Holidays for Haiti will be going virtual this year. “Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has been overwhelmed by hardship, natural disasters and
now COVID-19,” said Christopher Weiss, Principal, Riverside School, “Having our students help people who are significantly more challenged in their daily lives is a meaningful, valuable lesson that will resonate with them for years to come.”
Riverside students, family members, and the broader public are invited to be matched up with Haitian students in need through an online platform that was created specifically for the event. Any individual who wishes to participate can chose a child to sponsor, donate, and send personalized cards to the Haitian children.
“Now more than ever, the Haitian community needs help,” said Donken Christopher Andre, a former student at Danita’s, adding, “The pandemic has presented challenges that have put the school in dire need of books, supplies, healthcare support and financial assistance. Riverside School’s generosity and contributions will have a tremendous impact to children whose families are struggling to obtain even the most basic necessities.”
Anyone who is interested in Sponsoring a Haitian child can do so through the online platform. Riverside School encourages individuals to share this information in the community and with anyone that would be interested in participating.