What kind of world do you want?

Riverton High students conducted fundraising activities ranging from odd jobs like shoveling snow, to singing on street corners, holding a kiss a llama event and staging a benefit concert.

Photo: IRC

Guest blogger Elyse Yerman is a senior at Riverton High School outside Salt Lake City. As a student body officer, Elyse helped organize the school’s annual charity drive, which last year raised more than $81,000 for the International Rescue Committee (IRC).  The drive’s tag line was “What kind of world do you want?”

In 2007 my family decided that we would donate holiday gifts to a refugee family through the International Rescue Committee.  We were intrigued by how unique the IRC was, dedicated to helping refugees in the United States as well as in conflict zones around the world. Impressed by the work they did and eager to be exposed to other cultures, we applied to the IRC’s refugee mentoring program.
   
We worked with a family from Somalia, a mother and her eight children, helping them settle into their new home in the U.S.  Our families spent many afternoons together, laughing and learning about each other’s cultures and customs as we shared food and music.  We have all gained from that friendship and remain in contact with our friends from Somalia.   

I immediately thought of that experience and the IRC when my fellow student body officers and I began preparing last summer for our school’s biggest event: Silver Rush. 

Silver Rush (the name is a play on “Gold Rush” and one of the school colors) began eleven years ago as a basic “Sub-for-Santa” gift drive for people in need.  But when students began donating their paychecks from after-school jobs and contributing hours on end to fundraising, Silver Rush evolved into the largest high school charity campaign in the region. 

Students anticipate the drive and its excitement each year. For three weeks each December, the school focuses on learning about the designated charity. Fundraising activities are organized every lunch period. And on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings, students gather and go door-to-door in their neighborhoods performing odd jobs to collect monetary or in-kind donations.

Choosing a charity

The student body officers started brainstorming possible charities for Silver Rush 2010 in July.  We each brought several suggestions to the table, and by researching the charities we narrowed the list down to those that would be most compatible with our school. Early in November, we would vote on the finalists. 

Because of my previous involvement with the IRC, I knew that it would be an exceptional organization to support.  Unfortunately, a misconception of what a refugee is existed among most of the other officers.   In an effort to educate them, I presented facts and statistics about refugees and the IRC’s work and explained that the United States has a long tradition of offering refuge to people fleeing persecution and war.

I also explained how selecting the IRC would meet our school’s goals: We could help people rebuild their lives while also enriching our school by exposing students to different cultures.  Unlike organizations we had supported in the past, where student participation was limited by confidentiality, the IRC encouraged involvement. Students would be able to interact with refugees on a very personal level.

The room fell silent as the officers listened to and began to understand the impact of the IRC around the world and in our own community, Silence turned to excitement as people began to speak, and I realized that their opinions had completely changed. 
   
After we voted, and the IRC was selected, the officers met with representatives from the IRC office in Salt Lake City and discussed our charity drive and how we hoped to get involved. That meeting made us even more excited, and it assured us that we had selected the best possible choice for Silver Rush 2010.
 

Kicking off the campaign

We revealed the charity to the school on December 1 and posted signup sheets for students to participate in different volunteer activities through the IRC, such as sledding with kids, helping job-seekers prepare resumes, welcoming refugees to school basketball games, or setting up apartments for arriving families.  These sheets were completely filled on the very first day, with names running over the edges.

The next three weeks were exhausting as we spent hours fundraising. Our history teachers got involved as well. They organized a “Refugee Experience” field trip to a nearby National Guard base. There, students, in the role of refugees, were spoken to in a foreign language, were given meal cards, and had to set up tents. Then they listened to the real-life experiences of a young refugee from Liberia who attends our school.  These students returned to their classrooms to teach others what they had learned.
   
Excitement filled the school on the day of the last assembly before winter break.  Students and teachers eagerly anticipated the announcement of the fundraising results, which had been kept secret from everyone except the student government treasurer.  As the banner dropped and revealed the total -- $81,087 -- the assembly erupted with cheers. People were crying and smiling as we all beheld the outcome of everyone’s efforts.
 

It’s about change

Silver Rush has a motto: “It’s not about the money, it’s about the change.”  During the month of December, the students at our school underwent a transformation.  They confronted stereotypes and misconceptions, and learned what it takes for someone who has been forced from home by war or persecution to start over in a new country. 

Each student changed a little by making a personal decision to support the IRC. I believe this was the key to our success, that people are more inclined to help when they understand who they are helping and why it is important.  My fellow students at Riverton High School realized that they are in position to serve someone else, to help rebuild a life -- and they embraced the opportunity.

Look for a story about Riverton High's fundraising drive for refugees in the May issue of Reader's Digest (on newstands now).