Make Change

Make Change Highlights

Amit Nir ’16 derives her passion for giving from her excellent education here at Beaver. “Whether it is donating money or getting your hands dirty, it is important to give back” to those who do not enjoy the same schooling luxury. The Central Asia Institute was founded by Needham resident Rivka Nir.  Ms. Nir’s daughter Amit, now a sophomore at Beaver, has been generously giving to the fund for years.  CAI is an organization that builds schools in deprived areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan. After building the schools, the organization supplies teachers to educate the predominantly female population of students. The girls are taught basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.  As well as basic nursing, midwife procedures, and how to create small crafts to sell. With Beaver’s help Amit hopes to continue donating for additional schools across Asia.  Make sure to check out the website https://www.ikat.org/

 

A smile can make a difference, and that is what sophomore Mollie Devins is looking for when she engages in community work. On top of her academic work load and after school activities, Mollie has secured a strong connection, through her father, with both the Bridge Center and the Heated Lions Special Olympics Basketball Team. The Bridge Center is an activity center for kids of any age who are struggling with a disability both mental and/or physical.  The Heated Lions throws sports into the mix being a year round facility for “sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and young adults with intellectual disabilities.” (heatedlions.org) Through this work the, “best experience (she) has had was being able to see a smile on each child’s’ face when partaking in these experiences.” Something as small as a smile has Mollie Devins continuing her significant work at both organizations. We have been trying to work from the concept of condensing all fundraising to one time period raising money for the greater good, knowing that the Beaver community will be applying for the money.

Make Change Efforts

• The time to give is now, and raffles have the Beaver community in the spirit!  The middle school organized a raffle for a cute and very popular stuffed beaver, dressed in a school t-shirt.  Grades 6-8 generously gave coins to make a change, and of course for the chance to win a new stuffed animal.

• In the upper school, on Wednesday February 12,  there will be a raffle held during the boys varsity basketball game.  With the winter temperatures dropping quickly, we will be drawing a ticket for a grey thickly knit hat.

• On the 19th both girls and boys basketball teams are coming together and making a statement, in pink!  From February 7-17, the WBCA designated this time frame as the “Pnik Zone” in women’s basketball where all participating schools raise funds for the Kay Yow Cancer fund, aka “Play 4 Kay.”  The girls thought of the idea of creating a pink “Beaver Super Fan” shirt like at Harvestfest, and sell them.  The proceeds would benefit the Kay Yow Fund.  Someone could also be at the table collecting donations.  There is a double header on the 19th with the girls game at 4pm followed by the boys at 5:30pm.  This could be a great event to get a lot of school spirit, and focus on a fitting charity.  Here is a link to the Play 4 Kay.  http://www.play4kay.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1081067

• Hand made Macaroons will be sold at lunch on February 28 to help this campaign

• There is a buzz around school that some kids are donating to Make Change using funds from their bar/bat mitzvah

• If you around early on campus any morning during the week, you will see middle school students running around with Make Change Jugs collecting money

Here Are Four Potential Grant Receivers:

• Partners For Hope (PFH) will open its flagship academy in Haiti. PFH will create opportunities for Haiti’s brightest and most talented young footballers to advance their educations and football careers through placement in US and UK elite Independent Schools and Universities. For those that demonstrate potential to play at the professional level, the academy will create opportunities for trials with professional clubs in North America and Western Europe. PFH seeks to promote social change and end the cycle of poverty for its graduates, while empowering a new generation of future Haitian Leaders through Education and Football.  http://partners4hope.org/

• Start Strong Boston Conducts workshops at schools, hospitals, and police departments to educate community members on the components of healthy dating relationships, develops a new after-school curriculum taught by older teen peers and mentors, Establishes a series of “Family Fun Events”, as well as addressing girl gang sexual and physical violence and cyber bullying as part of the overall prevention program. http://www.startstrongparents.org/communities/boston

• The basketball teams are making a statement in pink! The 2014 Play 4Kay initiative is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Since its inception in 2007, the Play 4Kay initiative has raised over $2.8 million to support women’s cancer research. – See more at: http://www.play4kay.org

• Michelle Wildes teaches in the Middle School here at Beaver. The 7th grade science has been studying global water scarcity and pollution. Water all over the world, water is being used faster than it can be replaced.  In many countries in Africa and India, and even parts of the US are experiencing water shortages. Approximately 15 million CHILDREN die each year due to lack of clean water. In fact, in Sub-Saharan Africa, women and children spend between 15-17 hours a week walking to collect water that is often polluted and contaminated.  Most girls cannot attend school because of this. We recently read a true story about one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and his struggle to survive the war in Sudan. He has started a foundation for bringing clean water wells to villages on South Sudan to improve health, community, economy, and education to South Sudan.  Although a clean water well can cost between $5000-15,000 each,  as a class, we feel that Beaver could give any amount to support Salva Dut’s organization: WatersforSudan!  http://www.waterforsouthsudan.org/