Area Life

Overachievers: Myers Elementary exceeds $20,000 goal for building water well in South Sudan

BELLWOOD -- A last-minute $10,000 grant pushed Myers Elementary School past its goal of $20,000 to build a well in South Sudan.

The grant from Xylem Water Solutions & Water Technology helped the school raise $25,329 in just 41 days, Bellwood-Antis School District officials said.

To celebrate, community members joined both former and current staff and students to make the announcement Tuesday in front of the gymnasium packed with students, who cheered and danced upon hearing the news.

"I think it was fantastic," K-12 STEM teacher Kyley Longo said. "I don't think anybody was expecting us to get $25,000-plus in a matter of 41 days."

The school kicked off the fund-raising initiative in late September with pre-K to fifth grade students reading books about the difficulties of finding drinking water, such as Linda Sue Park's "A Long Walk To Water." Then, students collected donations from community members and hosted a Water Walk fundraiser at the track.

The teachers noticed their kids became more empathetic and grateful over the course of the schoolwide reading event, Longo said.

"We've seen kids come together, we've heard kids take initiative at home," she said. "And I think that's huge."

Myers Elementary students raised a little over $15,000 from community donations alone, Longo said, then third grade teacher Sammy Sabatula reached out to a family member who works for Xylem Water Solutions & Water Technology. Together, they wrote a grant and received $10,000 toward the project.

Longo said she kept the grant a secret from as many people as possible to ensure a big surprise at Tuesday's assembly. The remaining $5,329 will go toward another well fundraiser registered through Water for South Sudan, she said.

The school also entered the Iron Giraffe contest during the fundraiser for a chance to win a visit from Salva Dut, whose story is told in "A Long Walk to Water."

The school will be contacted when well construction begins, Longo said, and students will be able to watch the well being built through videos and photos.

"So they'll actually get to track the progress of that and see it firsthand," she said.

Community service

Myers Elementary staff brought back the fundraiser this fall in honor of former fourth-grade teacher Lori Crownover, who spearheaded the fundraiser for three years and raised $20,000 in 2017. Crownover passed away in August after battling cancer.

"It's great to see Lori's legacy carry on," Longo said.

Former Myers Elementary School Principal Terri Harpster, who interviewed Crownover when she applied for the job, supported Crownover when she first implemented the fundraiser at Bellwood-Antis.

"One of the things that we valued was that if we do service projects with elementary school students, how do we engage them in it so that it's meaningful," she said. "How can it have a lasting impact; how can they connect with this?"

Crownover connected her students with Dut's story and helped them understand the impact of not having access to clean drinking water, even across an ocean.

By introducing kids to fundraising, Harpster hopes that today's Myers Elementary School students understand the value of making a difference in the world.

"It may not be in Sudan. It might be in their local community, but they'll choose to serve and to give of themselves to help someone else's life become better," she said.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.