Trio creatively raises money for victims of tsunami

After the December tsunami in Asia, Naquasia Smith, a sophomore at Notre Dame/Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady, decided to take action.

She contacted two friends from school, Jessy Willette and Alysha Spillane (both members of St. Luke's parish), and the three approached campus minister Kathleen Duff for help in getting their school involved.

"I didn't even have my coat off when the three of them came up to me and said, 'We want to help the victims of the tsunami,'" Mrs. Duff recalled.

Naquasia, who attends Calvary Tabernacle Church in Schenectady, told The Evangelist: "I just wanted to help the victims in any way I could."

Collections

The student suggested that they follow the directives of World Vision International, a Christian relief organization that her church had adopted in its effort to raise money.

The trio "set up a huge jug in the cafeteria, at the end of the food line," Mrs. Duff explained, so students could donate to send potable water to the victims. In addition, the girls went from classroom to classroom, collecting pocket change in plastic water bottles from students, teachers and staff.

In two weeks, their effort, called Project Purify, had collected $500.

Still more

But the sophs weren't done. They had more ideas:

* "Heartbeat of the World" was developed by the students to collect money for clothing, food and other items that will be needed by people recovering from the tragedy.

"We thought [the tsunami] was a very big tragedy," Jessy said. "We thought of our own families, our own community. What if that happened here? So we just thought we should do something -- anything -- to help out as much as possible."

* The girls designed a token for those who donate. "It's a picture of a heart with the world in the middle," noted Mrs. Duff.

* Project Prayer was established for anyone who wanted to pray for the victims. "At the time they set this up, there were 150,000 deaths," Mrs Duff said. "They have set a goal to say 150,000 prayers. So far, they have reached the 10,000 mark."

"We all had such a feeling of sadness. We wanted to help and thought that everyone could pray, even if they couldn't donate money," noted Alysha.

Mrs. Duff added that prayer was an appropriate response from a Catholic school. "This is a wonderful idea," she said. "It is a trinity of services that offers support and hope to our neighbors across the world."

(1/27/05)