Innovative Marketing Project
Benefits Peru's Children
When NY high school teacher Terry Spitz-Schmidt saw Global Volunteers featured on the Oprah Show in 2002, she knew immediately she needed to reach out to the children she saw. In 2005, she and her husband Peter served with Global Volunteers in Peru. That experience inspired a truly remarkable project that has absorbed three departments at Olympia High School in Greece, NY. Following is her account of how the Peru Childrens' Book Project began:
"All of this began after returning from my first Global Volunteer program in Lima, Peru. My husband and I volunteered to spend two weeks at Puericultorio Perez Aranibar Orphanage. Enamored by the strength of these children, I also recognized the immense difficulty they faced. After sharing the experience with my American students, they, too, were inspired, determined to assist them in any way possible.
After careful planning, the students decided to create a children's book, something which could raise money for the Orphanage. At first, the idea seemed impossible, however, the pieces soon began to fall into place. Students from High School Marketing, Art, and Spanish Classes came forward, eager to assist. Even Third Grade students from a local Elementary School assisted by writing stories based on their research of the Amazon Rain Forest animals, further proving that caring and compassion have no age limit.
Now, the book is complete, as this once far-fetched idea has become a reality. This project is the results of many hours of collaboration and commitment by both teachers and students, the students have gained more than the knowledge and experience required by our curriculum but they have learned to reach across the globe and embrace the children of Peru."
