Sixth-grade students and parents at Canton Charter Academy (CCA) came together to make fleece blankets to donate to the people of the Bahamas who have been impacted by Hurricane Dorian.
CCA partnered with Hands of Light in Action (HOLIA), a U.S. based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is focused on assisting people in need. HOLIA is volunteer-driven and provides "hands-on" assistance to survivors of natural disasters using maximum impact and minimum bureaucracy.
In total, students made 32 blankets, which will be distributed through HOLIA to people in the Bahamas and Haiti.
Nancy Malone, founder, president, and treasurer of HOLIA, visited Canton Charter Academy to speak to students about what her organization does and how they are helping the Bahamas currently. Malone even helped students make blankets.
“Students have been keeping up with current events in their social studies class and are aware of the devastation that the Bahamas has recently experienced as a result of Hurricane Dorian,” said Laura Ewell, sixth-grade language arts teacher at CCA. “We thought this was a perfect way to show compassion and get involved with helping the people of the Bahamas as they desperately need it.”
The service project is aligned with the school’s Moral Focus curriculum, which highlights a different virtue every month, such as respect, wisdom, and perseverance, to develop the whole student, heart and character included.
“Various students were heard saying how happy they were to think that these actual blankets were going to help people in need,” said Ewell.
Way to go, Canton!
About Canton Charter Academy
Canton Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Canton, Michigan, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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