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Raising funds, awareness one T at a time
Olympic effort to benefit those with HIV, AIDS
by Kelly Purcell
news@thecharlotteweekly.com
When Brett Haight, a world geography teacher at the School of International Studies and Global Economics on the campus of Olympic Community of Schools, began a new chapter on poverty in Third World countries several months ago, typical classroom lectures took a backseat to student presentations. “We are going to dig deep into the fundamentals of extreme poverty,” instructed Haight. “I want you to go home and research this topic, then come back and teach us about it.” Students created computerized presentations, posters and other visuals and returned to class prepared to educate their peers.
What can we do?
Africa’s continual decline in economic status due to the spread of HIV and AIDS deeply affected many. “Several students came up to me and said, ‘This is terrible. What can we do about it?’” Haight recounted. “I asked them, ‘What do you want to do about it?’ They immediately got to work.”
A group of five students assembled and proposed an idea for a T-shirt that would spread the word regarding the outbreak of AIDS in Africa. Tremone Jackson, a 17-year-old junior, immediately began assigning roles. Classmate Kevin Ferriera took charge of the initial design. The front of the shirt says, “You know what the problem is.” The back suggests, “Don’t just sit around; fix it! Help fight AIDS.”
Haight said he played no part in the conceptualization. “I’m only a facilitator in this. I’m a strong believer in empowering students,” he said.
All for ONE
Since January, more than 200 shirts have been sold. The ultimate goal is to sell 1,600 shirts at $10 apiece. All proceeds will be donated to the ONE Campaign, which has already helped more than 38 million people around the world who are infected with HIV or have AIDS. About 25 million of those individuals reside in Africa.
“The coolest thing is you can walk around the school and see, on any given day, at least 10 kids wearing the same shirt. It’s awesome to see that kind of unity,” said Haight.
Awareness is key
Fund-raisers are not new to Olympic students. Other benefits spawned by the world geography class include rebuilding a storm-ravaged schoolhouse in Zambia destroyed about five weeks ago and helping to write lesson plans to teach middle school students about genocide.
“The most important thing about this fund-raiser, and all other fund-raisers, is awareness,” explained Jackson. “I want to make students and teachers aware of what’s going on around them.”
The T-shirt campaign to fight AIDS continues to push the abilities of the students involved and establish unity among classmates. Haight continues to be amazed at the progress created by the fund-raiser and the positive effect it has on the students. “It’s tremendously exciting to see what kids can do when they are given the opportunity to do more than they thought they could,” he said.
For more information on the ONE campaign, visit www.one.org. To purchase a “Help Fight AIDS” T-shirt or make a donation to the fund-raiser, e-mail Haight at brett.haight@cms.k12.nc.us.
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