Sacrifice by teens aids Kosovo

April Gordon, a parishioner of Our Lady of Angels parish in Whitehall, will be confirmed on May 20 and will graduate at the end of June from Whitehall High. In mid-June, she and her classmates will be the guests of honor at a parade in Wildwood, N.J., honoring them for the sacrifice they made to benefit the Kosovar refugees.

April, class treasurer, explained that her classmates had been raising money since their freshman year for a senior class trip and graduation activities. But when the refugees from the war in Kosovo began making the news, the class decided to help them. Senior class advisor Martha Bascue suggested that the seniors forego their trip and give the money to the Red Cross. The class officers unanimously agreed and called a class meeting at which 60 seniors also unanimously agreed to turn over the $1,700 they had collected.

"We'd talked about [the war] in class and had seen it on TV," April told The Evangelist. "We felt bad that they didn't have homes anymore." Helping those in need was also something that had been discussed in her religious education classes and made sense to her.

She and the other members of the class were surprised by what happened after they made the donation. The story of their gesture was picked up by the Associated Press and appeared in newspapers throughout the country. The story also ran in U.S. News and World Report, and in the Christian Science Monitor. The class was also featured on CNN.

"We figured the Whitehall paper would mention it," April said. "We were completely shocked by the television cameras."

The attention the students received led the Wildwood Chamber of Commerce to offer the class a free trip. Before accepting, however, the students challenged the Chamber to raise more money to benefit the refugees. The organization is now collecting donations and will make a check presentation to the Red Cross after the parade.

"It feels good" to have made the sacrifice, April said. "It shows that there are some teenagers out there doing good things."

She and her classmates would like the attention they've received to inspire others. "We encourage anyone to give money to the Kosovar refugees or anyone else in need," she said. (MM)

(05-06-99) [[In-content Ad]]