Soon after the deadly tsunami ravaged the South Pacific island of American Samoa on Sept. 29, students in the Highline School District were rallying support to assist the disaster survivors.
Despite the thousands of miles that separate this community south of Seattle from American Samoa, families throughout the Highline School District went right to work gathering emergency supplies and making donations to support the relief effort. On Saturday, Oct. 14, families for 10 district schools came together at Evergreen High School to collect the donations and celebrate their unified effort in helping the people of American Samoa.
The outpouring of care was especially touching because eight out of 10 of the schools are Title 1 schools, with more than 70 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced-cost lunches. World Vision also operates a Teacher Resource Center in Highline School District, providing local teachers serving in Title 1 schools ongoing opportunities to receive new, free classroom and school supplies. This time, instead of receiving assistance, these schools and their families found a way to give back.
Some of the participating schools raised $900 through penny drives. Schools also sent home a list of personal care items and school supplies American Samoan children and families need. Highline families here donated more than 2,700 of these items, such as pillow cases, soap, tooth brushes and tooth paste, notebooks, crayons, and many other essentials.
Sili Savusa, a Samoan community leader and a Highline School Board member, helped coordinate this outreach.
“I was shocked to see the outpouring of care,” said Reed Slattery,
World Vision’s representative who participated in the Highline event. “It was a great collaborative effort that will be a substantial blessing to the people of Samoa.”