Students’ Generosity rewarded with cookies

Students at CVR raised almost $1,200 during a cookie walk fundraiser on May 24 to benefit the Helping Improve Haitian Education Association, which was launched by a former math teacher in 2017 upon returning from a second trip to the country last summer.
What is a cookie walk you may ask? A super bake sale of sorts, where as many different kinds of cookies as possible are set out and participants buy access to a container they are then able to fill to capacity with whichever goodies they choose. At CVR, students were asked to bake cookies and Ziploc bags were sold in two sizes for $2 and $5. By the end of the day, over $1,000 had been raised. Any leftover cookies were sold the following day to bring the total up to $1,200.
“It really came from students,” said Ms. Pamela Bussey, a teacher in the Leadership Program, who noted the extent to which the students in general got involved with this cause. “One student alone baked six dozen cookies,” she added, while suggesting that for the most part, she had the impression the baking had been done by the students themselves.
The exceptional results from the cookie walk did not come as a surprise for Principal Brigitte Barrette-Frost. “CVR students are well known for their community involvement and their kindness,” she said, while highlighting the way teachers in the Leadership Program strive to cultivate strong values by letting students take the lead. “It’s heartwarming and impressive to see our caring young people come together and help other young people in a disadvantaged area such as Haiti, 3000 kilometers away,” she added.
Help for the Helping Improve Haitian Education Association
The Helping Improve Haitian Education Association was started by Teresa Groenewegen-Caza, who first travelled to Haiti in July, 2016, with the Project Teach organization. She returned a year later to hold four days of professional development with teachers in Port-au-Prince. It was upon returning home following her second trip that the Association was launched, initially to raise and collect funds for improving educational services offered to the Haitian students at St Paul’s Private Catholic School in the parish of St Jude and St Simon. During a third visit last March, she was introduced to the KC Mother’s Love Children’s Orphanage in the Tabarre area of Port-au-Prince, and the Association took on a second mission to support the education of the 23 female students (from 5 to 21 years of age) associated with KC Mother’s Love Children’s Village in Port-au-Prince.
A book drive of French children’s and young adult books has been ongoing throughout the month of May at CVR, with the goal of establishing a community library in Haiti. And, as a direct result of the cookie walk at CVR, one student from the orphanage, 16-year-old Wisline, will see her education sponsored, with the funds raised going toward her school fees, uniform and supplies.
A Gofundme page has also been launched to support the Association, which has so far raised over $650 with an objective of $5,000. For more information on the Helping Improve Haitian Education Association, or to support its work in Haiti, visit the page at www.gofundme.com/helping-improve-haitian-education.