Five months ago, a group of Chamblee Middle School students began a service learning project to help a local childcare center they thought did good work.
Then they fell in love with the kids the center serves, 60 in all, some with special needs ranging from learning disabilities to cerebral palsy.
Now they want the world to fall in love, too - enough, at least, to help a good cause.
Angered by the roof leaks, old pipes and cracked mortar The Elaine Clark Center fights daily, the students recorded a plea for the center on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Chamblee and its 40-year-strong history as a safe haven.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Oprah Winfrey. Ellen DeGeneres. The students will send each a video with a personalized greeting to try to get the center some help. They gave the Obamas a shout-out by name for the copy to be mailed to the White House. A RU-vid upload wont be far behind.
Cassandra Binney, one of the eighth-graders, said some students were hesitant when the group first came, herself included. She had never worked much with young children or those with special needs. But, theyre just like you and me. You just cant stop helping.
Calling themselves Teens for Tots, the group has already raised $1,500 and a bundle of supplies such as diapers, toys and blankets. And though their project was supposed to end by January, they cant just let go. Sister Robert Therese, a nun who died in June 2000, founded the center believing all kids can learn. She just got more converts.
www.ajc.com/met...
19 мар 2009
