Greensboro Student Grayson Sowers Organizes Aid Drive for Ukraine

April's Moral Focus virtue is compassion, and it’s a concept new Greensboro Academy fifth-grader Grayson Sowers has a firm grip on.
 
While listening to the radio on her ride home from school recently, she heard a news report about the war in Ukraine. Feelings of sadness crept in, and she spoke to her mother about ways she could help.
 
Thoughts of a food drive began, but as she did some investigating online, she found people of Ukraine are in need of basic hygiene products, as they were forced to flee their homes so quickly.
 
She quickly made her plan.
 
“After she had settled on how she wanted to help, she reached out to local churches to determine if there were any places that could support her shipping efforts,” Tara Chandler, Dean of Upper Elementary at Greensboro said. “She then put a proposal together and shared it with her teachers and the administration via a Google document. The school was happy to support her efforts and sent information out to staff and families.”
 
Donations started coming in for the week-long drive. By midweek, tubs in the hallway were overflowing with items such as shampoo, deodorant, bars of soap, washcloths, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. A note of encouragement was added to each kit as well.
 
“I was hesitant but if it didn’t work out, at least I tried,” Grayson said. “It didn’t matter how much we got. I just knew anything could help a family who really needed it.” 
 
It turns out Grayson is not new to tackling causes she feels passionate about. While living in Sweden for some time with her family, she helped adopt and protect an orangutan and raised money to help protect a coral reef.
 
Grayson Sowers knows about compassion.
 
About Greensboro Academy
Greensboro Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Greensboro, North Carolina, 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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