TEDDY BEARS FOR KIDS IN HAITI
CLEAN WATER FOR KIDS IN AFRICA
FOCUS 11 – MIDDLE SCHOOL RETREAT
Kids make a Difference
By Maggie Eilermann
TEDDY BEARS FOR KIDS IN HAITI
A few days after the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 , Blare Gooch saw a little boy crying in a pile of rubble on a newscast . This brought him to tears . The next day , Blare remembered his teddy bear that always comforted him , and thought , “ We could start a drive for Haiti .”
Blare announced his plan at school and asked other kids to donate bears . A local TV station , a radio station , and Facebook heard and other schools joined in . As a result , Blare ’ s Bears for Haiti donated 25,000 teddy bears to Haiti and about 22,000 more to nonprofits . Blare progressed to collecting toys and school supplies , too . “ It doesn ’ t really matter how small or old you are ,” says Blare . “ If you ’ re young and think you can ’ t make a big difference in the world , well , you actually can .”
CLEAN WATER FOR KIDS IN AFRICA
By Franny Carapella
In 1998 , six-year-old Ryan Hreljac ’ s teacher told his class about kids in Africa who have to walk five miles to get clean water . He was told that many people die because of this . So Ryan decided to help . He asked his parents for more chores to raise money for kids in Africa who don ’ t have clean water . Finally , he came up with $ 70 , but then found he needed $ 2,000 to drill a well in another country , so Ryan got back to work . Eventually , made $ 2,000 from fundraisers and chores . Ryan sent the money to ‘’ WaterCan ,’’ and a water hole was put next to a school in northern Uganda in 1999 . Since that one hole was dug , other funds have given $ 800,000 to make more wells . In the past 18 months , Ryan has traveled across Canada , Australia , South Africa , United States , China and many other countries to motivate other people to do what he did . Ryan Hreljac has met famous people and he has even been blessed by the Pope .
By St . A Today Staff
FOCUS 11 – MIDDLE SCHOOL RETREAT
St . Austin fifth and sixth grade students attended a retreat sponsored by the Archdiocese of St . Louis and spent the day nurturing their personal holiness . Students from Catholic schools all around the diocese attend this 3-day event , filled with a variety of activities including praise and worship songs , videos , and time for boys and girls to break out in their own sessions . Incredible talks given by Father Chris Martin and Father Brian Fallon of the Vocations Office , Father Robert from the Jesuits , Sister Mary Michael of the Carmelites , and others telling about vocations and their own road to religious life . Studies have shown that kids often consider the possibility of a religious vocation in middle school , and with this idea , Focus 11 was born . The highlights of the day were Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the morning , and Holy Mass in the afternoon . Everyone from St . Austin who attended came back on fire with their faith !