April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
CATHOLIC HIGH, TROY
Acts of kindness may bring bullied student to CCHS
Acts of kindness may bring bullied student to CCHS
Noah used to attend a public school where he was constantly bullied. After transferring to Catholic Central High School in Troy, he said, bullying hasn't been a problem.
"Being bullied, you can really get depressed," he said. "Whenever I went to the park, there was always someone who wasn't nice to me."
Many children in America tell similar stories -- including one who used to go to a local public school. He's now home-schooled because the bullying got so severe.
That student, who has remained anonymous to students and most faculty at CCHS, had applied to Catholic High before the bullying escalated, but the cost of tuition -- about $7,000 a year -- proved too high for his family, even with financial aid.
Then students at CCHS learned about the situation from Lexi Cuomo, who teaches ninth- and 10th-grade social studies and is advisor to the social media club. Ms. Cuomo's mother, a speech pathologist at the boy's former school, told her about the student in need.
We can help
Ms. Cuomo mentioned the problem to the social media club, and the club members immediately jumped on board with ideas. First, they decided to create a scholarship fund called the Crusader Bullying Prevention Scholarship to supplement financial aid for the student.
In addition, "the club was planning to do a Random Acts of Kindness Day at the end of the school year to promote kindness," said Ms. Cuomo. The students "decided to use this day as inspiration for others to do an act of kindness through donating.
"They ran the whole thing," she said.
Freshman Tess Gauthier saw it as an "opportunity to do something nice for the community."
"We gave out a bunch of free stuff," explained Lili Van Vorst, a freshman who attends Holy Spirit parish in East Greenbush.
The students used money previously raised by the club to buy doughnuts, lunches, ice cream and flowers for fellow students as a way to spread some cheer throughout the school -- the opposite of the attitudes that lead to bullying.
Well-wishes
"I don't think I've ever been so proud of the Catholic High students," declared principal Christopher Bott. "It was a very unique idea, and it was a great thing for the school."
"I had a lot of fun going around and taking pictures," said Luke Geddies, a CCHS freshman from St. Pius X parish in Loudonville. He and other members of the social media club made a video to help support their cause, showing students performing random acts of kindness around the school (see www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjd-EP0b-8I).
"Something about the day made everyone smile," Luke said. "It was fun."
Aside from the giveaways, the Random Acts of Kindness Day focused on notes filled with kind words for students. Written by every CCHS student in the course of a week, the notes were collected and taped onto students' lockers the night before the event by social media club members.
"The club ensured every student received one," Ms. Cuomo noted. v To help raise money for the scholarship fund, the students also created a GoFundMe page, an online fundraising outlet. The account has raised almost $1,500 since it launched June 3. Their goal is to raise $28,000 -- enough to enroll the bullied student at CCHS for all four years of high school.
Bring him here
"The ultimate goal of the students was, and still is, to raise enough money through the GoFundMe page to complete the ultimate random act of kindness: paying for this student's tuition," Ms. Cuomo told The Evangelist.
The club also put out a jar at the end of the lunch line so that students can add their spare change to support the scholarship fund.
"Just because we don't have to deal with [bullying] doesn't mean it isn't out there," said James Faraci, a CCHS sophomore who's a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Troy.
The Random Acts of Kindness Day and contributions to the scholarship fund are continuing to help the Catholic High students appreciate their school's supportive community, while also reminding them of other students who aren't in such a good situation. Hopes are high that the once-bullied student will find a home at CCHS in September, and friendly faces to welcome him.
(The scholarship fund page is at www.gofundme.com/276te8s.)[[In-content Ad]]
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