When the South Lakes High School students began raising money Jan. 8, they set a goal of $10,000. As of Monday afternoon, Feb. 7, they had raised more than $10,500 for the tsunami relief effort.
Monday through Wednesday, the Ice Skating Pavilion at Reston Town Center will donate 50 percent of its proceeds to the students’ efforts. During the three days, the Washington Capitals mascot Slapshot will make appearances and give away prizes. The event will add more to the tally already achieved by the South Lakes students. “The students saw it as a personal challenge, not global,” said Lindsay Trout, a special education and leadership class teacher at South Lakes.
TROUT SAID she was impressed by the response from the students and the faculty. The students conducted fund-raisers by going out to the community to ask for donations. They stood outside of grocery stores with collection cans, put up signs in the school and spoke at parent conferences to encourage the community to donate. “They are compassionate and understand that the world is bigger than just Reston,” said Jamie Petrik, and English teacher at South Lakes. Although Trout and Petrik overlook the activities the students come up with, they gave much of the credit to the students for their “hard and impressive” work.
Speaking at a parent gathering at South Lakes recently, AJ Fuller, the senior class president, asked parents to donate money to the cause. He acknowledged many of the parents may have already contributed to relief efforts through their churches or places of business, but he asked them to substitute the money they would spend going for a coffee at Starbucks for a donation. Fuller said through the fund-raiser he learned South Lakes is about community and making a difference. “South Lakes is about helping others,” added Fuller, “whether here or in Southeast Asia.”
The money raised by South Lakes students and faculty will be donated to World Vision, an organization, said Fuller, committed to work in the areas affected by the tsunami for five to 10 years.