School Partners

Kids Helping Kids Make a Better Future

“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”

Hope for Haitians: School Involvement

Education is a long term endeavour. Working with Hope for Haitians provides an opportunity for school age children to make a difference in the world right now! Support today meets the needs of the poor today, not at some point after graduation. The poor in Haiti, especially those we serve, are among the most destitute and impoverished people in the world.

Each of the following fundraising ideas teaches students about using our resources to care for the world through serving others. It also allows students to be involved in something bigger than themselves.

Setting school and classroom goals is critical to get students interested and focused on their project. Use one of the ideas below or be creative and design a unique program for your school.

Ideas For School Involvement

Start a Club:

Students can join their talents and time in a Hope for Haitians Club to raise funds that will be used to build a house.

The Dime Drive:

It is amazing how fast dimes can add up! Set a goal for a certain dollar amount and set collection stations at specific locations within the school. Create a line on the gym floor to show the continual progress of reaching that goal.

Dress Down Days:

These days are enthusiastically supported by the students, thus a very effective fundraising opportunity! Also, sharing the message with students that although they work hard to get out of uniforms, a child in Haiti dreams of attending school and wearing a uniform and will treat them like gold.

Tree of Hope:

Set up a student drawn tree in the common area. Decorate the tree with cutouts of donation “needs” to provide education in Haiti. Examples would be textbooks, desks, supplies, uniforms, teachers, etc. Each would have an associated dollar amount ($1–$25) with an attached donation envelope.

Jar of Hope:

A great campaign to run in a two week or one month interval. A jar and calendar is sent home assigning an amount for each time a task or daily “advantage” is completed. We have also done a money jar collection during the time frame provided. When an actual collection container is provided, people will continue to remember not only the need but the mission.

Adopt a Child:

An entire school, a classroom, or a family can sponsor a Haitian student for just $150 a year. This donation covers tuition, supplies, uniforms, a daily balanced meal, transportation, and the opportunity for a future that very few in the country receive.

Build a Village One Piece at a Time:

A group of students create a mural of a house within a village in Haiti. Students can purchase a piece of a village such as a brick for the house, a chicken, a goat, or a tree. When the student purchases that “piece” they color it in and attach it to the mural.

2014 Pope Francis Friendship Village

Remarks by People Who Visited Villages

Education Fast Facts:

39% of the adult population is illiterate.
Over 50% of Haiti’s population is school age.
More than one quarter million primary school aged children have no access to education.
Many children cannot afford the costs of education in Haiti because the average family makes less than $1 per day.
Haitian government does not provide adequate funding for public schools.
Most families cannot afford private education, which can be as little as $150 per year.
One in eight children die before the age of five because of malnutrition.
30% of students pass the national high school exam.
The unemployment rate in Haiti is over 65%.
Only 1% of Haitians continue to pursue higher education.
The average 25-year-old Haitian has less than 5 years of education.
Half of public sector teachers in Haiti lack basic qualifications and almost 80 percent of teachers have not received any pre-service training.
75 percent of children at the end of first grade and nearly half of students finishing second grade cannot read a single word.

Hope for Haitians is blessed with the partnership of the following schools:

SECONDARY SCHOOLS:

Aquin Central Catholic High School – Freeport

Aurora Central Catholic High School – Aurora

Boylan Central Catholic High School – Rockford

Hononegah Community High School – Rockton

Marian Central Catholic High School – Woodstock

Marmion Academy – Aurora

Newman Central Catholic High School – Sterling

Rosary High School – Aurora

St. Edward Catholic High School – Elgin

Streamwood High School – Streamwood

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Aquin Catholic Elementary School – Freeport

Edgewood Elementary School – Woodridge

Holy Cross – Batavia

Holy Family – Rockford

SS Peter & Paul – Cary

St. Anne – Dixon

St. Bernadette – Rockford

St. Bridget – Loves Park

St. James – Rockford

St. Joseph – Aurora

St. Laurence – Elgin

St. Mary (St. Patrick Parish) – Dixon

St. Mary – Sterling

St. Mary – Sycamore

St. Peter – Geneva

St. Peter Cathedral – Rockford

St. Rita – Rockford

St. Therese – Aurora

St. Thomas More – Elgin