Students Assemble Emergency Kits for AmeriCares

In an ongoing partnership with AmeriCares, New Canaan Country School students and teachers gathered as a community on April 3 for a “kitting” event, assembling family hygiene kits which will replenish stocks used during Typhoon Haiyan and other recent emergencies.
Working in multi-age “buddy” teams the students put together kits that are designed to have all of the personal care items a family of four need while they are displaced – soap, shampoo, towels, etc. The kits will be kept in the AmeriCares warehouse in Stamford and distributed to disaster survivors in the U.S. and around the world after tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and other emergencies.
 
“Personal care items are particularly important for people displaced by major emergencies,” said AmeriCares Vice President of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia. “We keep hundreds of these family emergency kits pre-positioned in our warehouse so we are ready to respond the moment disaster strikes.”
 
The students raised more than $4,000 through various on-campus fundraisers including a bake sale, dress down days, Bingo for AmeriCares and a contribution from the NCCS Kiva Club in order to purchase supplies. Earlier in the fall, the students heard from representatives from AmeriCares about the work the organization does.
 
“It’s important to keep students connected to causes over an extended period of time,” explains Director of Community Development Lynn Sullivan. “By learning about an organization, then raising funds, then actually creating something with their own hands, the students get a more holistic perspective.”
 
Since joining the school this fall, Ms. Sullivan has begun to shift the focus of the school’s outreach from community service to a service learning approach.  Service learning requires long-term partnerships and applies academic and organizational skills to public service outcomes. 
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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.