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Faculty and staff at the school recently held special programs to teach the idea of "one person – even a middle school student – can make a difference," according to a press release.
"And students seemed to embrace the message as they spent the day learning about a variety of serious problems and exploring ways they could help," school officials said in the release.
Students participated in projects that ranged from making teddy bears for sick children, to filling pillowcases for homeless people, to shooting a film about kindness for the district’s younger students, according to the release.
“It surprised me to learn how many people are homeless or don’t have clean water to drink,” said sixth-grader Andreya Milton, according to the release.
“We’re learning that anybody can help and make a difference,” said sixth-grader Taylor Duffy, according to the release.
The school’s student body heard presentations from Jim Keady, the founder of Educating for Justice, which seeks to improve conditions for overseas factory workers; and Cubbie Graham from Charity: Water, which brings clean drinking water to people in developing countries.
“We want the students to understand the importance of giving back,” said Byram Hills teacher Sheila St. Onge. “In school, we model how to do a math problem or how to do a project; we also need to model how to be a citizen of the world.”
Teacher Mary Staudt, another organizer, said the school hopes that the message behind Power of One will persist after the day’s activities end, according to the release.
“We hope the students will feel empowered to be agents of change," Staudt said.
Students are invited to take part in Walk for Water on May 30 at Byram Hills High School to raise money to provide a water source for a village in a developing country.
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