Charity Donation

SHSS Tourism 12 Class: Project’s Profit Going the Distance

The Tourism 12 class has donated their hard earned money on an international level, to a place in need. The $660 profit earned through the April 23rd Castlegar News Tourism Insert will be going towards the Red Cross Society in Liberia. On April 23rd a Tourism insert was published in partnership with the Castlegar News. Students worked with the paper to sell and create the advertisements with the support of several Castlegar businesses. Students also assisted in the layout of the insert and wrote many of the articles.

Liberia was chosen by Ms. McKay’s Tourism 12 Class over all other countries in the world because the desperate needs of this poor country are often forgotten. Deb Chmara, a teacher at Stanley Humphries and a Red Cross Volunteer assisted the students in their decision making through her personal experience working in Liberia. “Many people are concerned about giving money to Africa because they think the money will be misspent, but what impressed me about the Liberians was that they are very realistic about their situation and are struggling to do things on their own.” Chmara also informed students that because the funds will go through Red Cross, they can be assured that the money will be spent appropriately.

Under the Red Cross, the $660 profit will be going to the Health Department and more specifically, the Watsan Project. The Watsan project, also known as the Water Sanitation Project, was put in place to provide safe drinking water to people in many developing countries such as Liberia.

More than 5 million people die annually from waterborne diseases and with the Tourism 12 class’ donation hundreds of people will be provided with safe drinking water.

Although $660 is only a small amount of financial support, it is a big step in the right direction. As one of the students, Jenna Makaroff added, “It feels good to know that we are helping people from a different country who are less fortunate than ourselves.”

The money will go towards either a community well for approximately 100-200 people, or clay pots. Clay pots purify water by using Javax and by filtering water through several different layers of soil. The $660 raised will provide approximately 250 clay pots to the community. This means that through the efforts of the 20 students in Tourism 12 at SHSS, 700 people will have access to clean, safe drinking water. One clay pot provides for a maximum of 3 families.

Ms. McKay and her Tourism 12 class would like to send out a big thank you to all the businesses that supported this cause and worked with the students on this project. Your support made a difference in the lives of many people!