Note: The following story appears in the winter issue of 希德ight alumni magazine. For more information about the 希德 校友会, see the 网站. To apply for a 海因兹社区学院 基金会 scholarship, go to the BG真人 tab on college web site at www.themindbehind.net or 点击这里.
RAYMOND – What began as a random tagalong trip with friends to the island nation of Jamaica has turned into a calling for 凯西·法里斯, 雷蒙德的.
“It affected me in such a way that I knew I wanted to do something else with my life like that,法里斯说. “I had never done volunteer work before.”
凯西·法里斯, background, 雷蒙德的, and some of the children in Jamaica with whom she has worked as part of Great Shape! 公司. since 2012 (海因兹社区学院/Submitted by 凯西·法里斯)
自2012年以来, 法里斯, a technical assistant at the McLendon 图书馆 at 海因兹社区学院’s 雷蒙德 Campus, has volunteered at least a few weeks a year with children and educators in Jamaica to make lives better in every way possible – whether that’s team-teaching computer skills or helping get eyeglasses and shoes to those most in need.
She’s done so as part of Great Shape! 公司., an Oregon-based nonprofit founded after Hurricane Gilbert ravaged the island nation in 1988. An effort then to rebuild schools and roads there evolved into an ongoing mission to help students get everything they need to thrive in school. 在过去十年中, it’s grown to establish computer labs to aid education, sponsor the purchase of mandatory uniforms for Jamaican children and provided expertise in dental and eye care for schoolchildren. The organization says only 43 percent of Jamaica’s population of 2.8 million has ever seen or been treated for eye health issues, while the literacy rate in rural parts of the island is just 40 percent.
法里斯 has done a majority of her work while staying in hotels owned by Sandals 度假胜地s, which sponsors reading efforts in the country’s schools.
“Just being in the schools with the children is amazing, because they’re such loving children and you get so much more out the project by being there,”她说。. “One little 12-year-old girl came in who had no idea her eyesight was bad, and they fitted her with glasses. 她哭了，她妈妈也哭了. 这是一个感人的故事. It makes me tear up because I’m so vested there. There’s just so much we take for granted in the U.S.”
Her friends and co-workers have pitched in either supplies or their own elbow grease to 法里斯’ volunteer work.
“至少可以这么说, it was the most humbling experience that I have had in my life,利·曼说, a friend of 法里斯’ whose curiosity turned to action for the past few trips. “I had run by to see her, and she pulled out her tablet to show me the videos and all the stories. I asked question after question, then just decided it was time for me to make a difference and be part of this journey.”
给梅兰妮·约翰, among 法里斯’ five fellow technical assistants in the library, it was a chance to contribute to children who need the essentials for school. That list includes children’s books, backpacks and school supplies such as pencils, 纸, 笔记本电脑, 铅笔刀, 胶棒, 贴纸和记号笔.
“I thought it was such a wonderful way to give back to those who were lacking educational needs and also teaching resources for the teachers,约翰说.
法里斯 credits her experience in the DECA program as a 希德 student, in the retail management area, for shaping her development later on helping people in the library and in her mission work. The organization recognizes student achievement in various fields of business administration, 金融, 市场营销和招待.
“We placed nationally when I was coming to school here,”她说。. “现在, I enjoy helping students in the library and like seeing that light bulb come on when studying. It’s made me want to do more in the volunteering area.”