Local youth determined to make a difference

A group of 27 Lind-Ritzville High School students have united to form the We Lind-Ritzville club, a leadership group dedicated to making the community and the world a better place. The students are part of a larger movement and part of an initiative of Free The Children, an international charity that works to empower young people to bring about change in the world.

The local club is currently involved in a community service project to collect donations to support foster children in the area and provide school supplies to a school overseas. The students distributed nearly 30 donation bins throughout the community at local businesses last week.

Due to the recent tragedy in Lind, the students made the decision to change the focus of the project for one week. Until Friday, March 1, the money collected will be donated to the family in Lind who lost their home and three-year-old daughter in a house fire last Wednesday.

During the month of March, the money collected in the donation bins is being put towards supporting children in emergency foster care in the community. Beginning in April, funds collected will go towards providing school supplies to a school in either South America or Africa.

For the local portion of the project, the students are building boxes for foster children that include items such as treats, toys, cards, diapers, underwear and pants. The students intend to use the money collected to purchase supplies and drop off the boxes on the way to We Day in Seattle on March 26.

We Day Seattle unites 15,000 students from across the state to celebrate the positive change youth can have on their community. The students earn a trip to We Day through community service projects and participating in a global action project.

We Day helps develop youth leadership and encourages students to become more involved in their communities. The event is geared towards helping youth become more confident in their ability to be leaders in their communities.

For the global action project, the students are using shoeboxes to create school supply bins to ship to a school of their choice. The project will conclude just before the end of the school year in June when the supplies will be purchased and the boxes shipped to the school.

Students in the club are assigned to local businesses and collect the donations on a weekly basis, with a school employee present. The students work directly with the businesses to ensure the staff are knowledgeable about the project. They also answer any questions the staff members may have regarding the donation jars.

All the money is deposited into the Lind-Ritzville High School account, with checks being issued later for each individual fundraiser.

The students intend to add more fundraisers during the springtime, such as a car wash. All questions regarding the We Lind-Ritzville club can be directed to business teacher Guy Strot at 503-819-8941 or sent to [email protected].

Donation jars can be found at a variety of local businesses or checks can be mailed to Strot or Dana Telecky at Lind-Ritzville High School at 209 East Wellsandt Avenue in Ritzville.

For more information about the accounting, contact the school office at 659-1720.