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Myers Elementary School aims to fund well in Sudan in honor of beloved teacher

Myers Elementary students begin drive in honor of beloved teacher

By Colette Costlow 5 min read

BELLWOOD -- Myers Elementary kicked off its schoolwide reading event Friday, raising money for clean water in South Sudan in honor of former fourth grade teacher Lori Crownover.

Crownover spearheaded the fundraiser for three years with her class, and in 2017, raised enough money to build a well in South Sudan. She recently passed away in August after battling cancer.

From now until Oct. 26, pre-K to fifth grade students will read books about the difficulties of finding drinking water while working toward raising $20,000 from community donations to build a well. They had raised $3,600 as of Friday afternoon.

After their kickoff assembly, K-12 STEM teacher Kyley Longo said teaching students to serve others is a valuable trait in today's world.

"Serving others is the heart of the whole mission," she said.

It took Crownover three school years to raise enough money to build a well in South Sudan, according to student-turned-student teacher Kyra Markey, who took part in the school's efforts in 2015.

"Ten years ago, we would go into the computer lab, and we did brochures and sent them to local companies to get donations," she said.

As a kid, she resonated with Linda Sue Park's "A Long Walk to Water," which is also what third, fourth and fifth grade students were assigned to read with their class this upcoming month.

"It was something that made you go home and think about and appreciate the water that you have here," she said.

Crownover retired in 2017, and the fundraiser disappeared around the COVID-19 pandemic. When Longo heard of Crownover's illness, she asked her principal to dedicate a portion of their hall to the former fourth grade teacher. Staff also drew inspiration from her service project and vowed to run a service project each fall "to keep her legacy of serving others alive," Longo said.

"We want to honor her and also show our kids what it means to give back," Principal Matt Stinson said before the assembly.

In conjunction with reading assignments and community donations, the school is hosting a community Water Walk event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 at the school's track, inviting participants to engage in a story walk and experience traveling for clean water. Water filtration demonstrations, face painting, food trucks and a DJ will also be available to participants.

"It's a great community here at Bellwood," Stinson said. "The community shows a lot of support, and we want to continue to instill that in our students."

Making an effort

After finding out about the Myers Elementary fundraiser, fourth grade students shared their excitement about reading their book assignment.

"I'm excited to learn how far they'll be walking and how they do that every single day," student Emma Miller said.

To spread the word about their fundraiser, she said her class will create posters and videos promoting their mission to the local community.

Longo said Myers Elementary staff also posted promotional videos on social media accounts, such as Facebook and TikTok, to get parents and adults involved in the fundraising event, too.

To promote literacy at home, she said Crownover recorded herself reading the first chapter of "A Long Walk to Water," while other staff members recorded the remaining chapters. All recordings are available to parents, so they can connect with their children at home while incorporating acts of service.

Miller said this fundraiser can help kids just like her.

"We're going to be giving them clean water, and they're not going to have bacteria anymore," she said. "They'll have nice and clean water."

Former student Olivia Hess remembered working with Crownover 10 years ago when they raised enough money to build a well in South Sudan.

"Being chosen by her to speak about the book's message forced me out of my comfort zone at a young age, and she gave me the confidence to trust in the power of my words," she said.

To raise money, she also remembered speaking about their mission with a local business, alongside her classmate and two teachers. They also filmed videos to spread their mission across social media platforms.

"Even though we were just fourth graders, our teachers made us fully aware of the direct impact we were making and gave us the confidence to be truly passionate about a cause," she said.

With a new class taking on the challenge this school year, Hess hopes that students realize they are never too young to make a positive change in the world, one well at a time.

"A dedicated teacher who sees your potential and connects classroom lessons to real-world impact is truly special, and their influence will stay with you -- like Mrs. Crownover's influence has stayed with me," she said.

If you go

What: Water Walk

When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9

Where: Bellwood-Antis track

Donations: To donate, visit: https://app.verticalraise.com/fundraiser/water-for-south-sudan/c/1809023/

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

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