Bought fabric to make khakiskirts and pants

Tag : Fabric Khaki
"Our inspiration came from a need to reach out to someone, or somegroup somewhere in the world," said Karen Shriner, an art teacherat Daniel Boone High School and Daniel Boone Youth EducationAdvisor.

The inspiration caught on and grew.

Now, the entire Daniel Boone School District in Birdsboro,Pennsylvania, is involved in helping a school in the DominicanRepublic.

It's a huge undertaking, which requires raising $50,000 to replacea temporary school classroom with a new school.

Those taking part in the project include students from oneKindergarten Center, three Elementary Schools, one Middle Schooland the Daniel Boone High School. The thousands of studentsinvolved in the outreach project have raised half of theirprojected goal so far.

"In the past we have raised $35,000 for the Red Cross 9/11 fund,helped to raise $50,000 for a former student in need of a livertransplant, helped to provide sneakers and sweatshirts for needystudents in our district at Christmas, sent school supplies to aschool in Rwanda that suffered during the genocide, more thandoubled the blood donation record for Miller/Keystone Blood Centerin memory of a former student lost to leukemia, and so many moresmaller projects," Shriner explained. "As you can see, we try towork locally and globally. So, when we were looking for a projectfor the past school year, we used my cousin, Nellie Stabler, as ourinspiration. She is so passionate about what she is doing in theDominican Republic that we became addicted. She and her group fromA.C.E.S. in Williamsport are amazing."

Avanzada Comunal Ensenando y Sanando (A.C.E.S.), also known asCommunity Advancement for Teaching and Health, is a non-profitorganization that helps people in the Dominican Republic.

The current school in the Dominican Republic is only a one-roomstructure, built with plywood and a tin roof. There is no plumbingand the bathroom used by students is only a bucket in the corner,behind a sheet.

"We are helping to build a two-story, concrete block building withfour classrooms on the first floor, a computer lab and communityroom on the second floor," Shriner detailed. "We have already senta 48' trailer full of desks and school supplies that we collectedfrom a school renovation project. Out of nowhere, an angel appearedin the form of Paul McGrath from 5K Logistics. Paul and his companypaid the thousands of dollars that it took to get the trailer tothe Dominican Republic."

Surprisingly, the project has gained attention by word-of-mouth inthe community and involved not only strangers but also Shriner'sfamily.

"Making hand-sewn uniforms for the schoolchildren was all mymother's idea!" Shriner said with a laugh. "Mom's initial goal wasto make 100 uniform shirts: orange for the younger students andblue for the older kids. I think when all of the shirts arereturned from church friends and swimming buddies, there will beclose to 130. My sister, Gretchen, has bought fabric to make khakiskirts and pants, so that will be the next step. It has beenamazing how many people have jumped into this project with Mom.People from church have just handed her money for fabric. Mycousins, Nellie, Norm and Nancy, along with my Aunt Doris and AuntRuth, my sister, Gretchen, and I have had a hoot at the two sewingparties that we held. It was so much fun to laugh with people thathave faced so much tragedy over the years. We've all experiencedlosses in our large extended family. There have been losses ofchildren and spouses. It could have been a big ole pity party, butit ended up being such good therapy for all of us and brought uscloser together."

While the Daniel Boone School, community and Shriner's family areat half goal, the work remains far from done.

"We have raised close to $25,000 and $3,000 was unexpectedly neededto send medical supplies when Hurricane Noel hit the island inOctober. The school will cost $50,000, so that means we need atleast $28,000 to complete the school. It would be so amazing to seethe completed school when we visit."