Rodrigo Camacaro (head custodian), Chanel Higgins (Instructional Support leader), Jane Crawford (principal), LaDonna Lowe-Sutherlin (counselor) and Tracy Shorley (assistant principal) helped to lead the effort at Parker Road Elementary School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District to donate approximately 200 medium and large boxes of Christmas gifts to children in Venezuela, in collaboration with St. Andrew United Methodist Church and Charity Christian Center. Students, staff, and the community also donated enough food to run Venezuela’s feeding program for half of 2019.
“Everything started with my aunt and my brothers that live and serve children in the community where I was raised in Venezuela,” Camacaro said. “The economy recently collapsed, so a lot of people are struggling there. We made it a project where our school and the churches came together to give these kids everything from toys, clothes, and shoes, to food.”
Camacaro connected with Sarah Jennings, a fourth-grade teacher at Parker Road, who developed a service project for her students to raise money and collect items to donate. Students not only orchestrated events to collect donations, but they also studied the economic climate in Venezuela. Students in second grade also formed pen pals with the children in Venezuela and mailed them letters with postage stamps to send letters back.
