One final push is needed to deliver 82 pounds of locally collected school supplies to a rural school in Guatemala.
This is where the public comes in.
The Walnut Grove Secondary School (WGSS)-sponsored Leos Club, a youth organization of Lions Clubs International, is reaching out to local businesses to ask for their support in covering the costs of a courier, so that the Guatemalan studeents can receive much needed school supplies as they start the school year.
The Leos Club partnered with the Lions Club of Guatemala City to sponsor a rural school in Guatemala. Since November, Leos collected school supplies for the school and after two months of continued effort and educating their peers about the situation of children in poverty stricken countries, youth at WGSS contributed about 82 pounds of school supplies: hundreds of pencils, pens, crayon, erasers and markers, and paper.
Now, the Leos are preparing the materials for delivery to Guatemala.
Leo Clubs are a youth organization of Lions Clubs International. The word “Leo” stands for Leadership, Experience, Opportunity. Leo Club is the largest youth club of voluntary character in the world, present in 140 countries with over 160,000 members.
WGSS’s Leo Club is sponsored by the Lions Club of Fort Langley.
Lynda Davidson is the advisor of the WGSS group and Grade 12 student Alejandra Jahns is the President. The Leo Club at Walnut Grove Secondary brings together a service-minded group of 70 members, from Grades 8 to 12.
Jahns said the drive to collect school supplies is meaningful to the local Leos, because it showcases how we can impact in a positive way the lives of children and youth living in developing countries.
“This project provides us Leos with the opportunity to practice what means to be a global citizen,” Jahns said. “Through this sponsorship project we are building awareness and appreciation for the value of education. Now more kids in our school can appreciate how privileged we are as we live in Canada, a place of opportunity.”
Davison said the Guatemala project brought together a group of committed teens.
“I very much appreciate the support of the teachers and the school community in general. The students and their families have been very generous with their donations,” she added. “More than making a donation, they are making a tremendous difference for the children that will receive the school supplies that will be distributed by the Lions Club of Guatemala City”.
Anyone interested in supporting this initiative can contact Jahns directly at alejahnswgss@gmail.com.