Canyon School: “Ready

Canyon Charter Elementary School made history last week when it became the first school in the nation to frame a house on its campus through Habitat for Humanity’s hurricane relief house-building program, Operation Home Delivery. The house is one of 350 being built across the U.S. and one of a dozen homes under the auspices of the nonprofit’s Los Angeles organization. The school’s plan to aid Gulf Coast hurricane victims was six months in the making and had the full support of the Los Angeles Unified School District. “Our partnership with Habitat for Humanity truly celebrates the generous spirit of giving in this community,” says Carol Henderson, principal of Canyon. “The opportunity to build a home for a family in need is a remarkable honor. Giving is contagious and we hope that our home will inspire other schools to help’one home at a time.” Canyon’s commitment to community service’an integral component of its charter’propelled the school to do more than just donate money to the hurricane relief effort. “What we wanted to do was to provide a memorable experience for the children,” explained former Canyon teacher Dorothy Miyake, who came out of retirement to spearhead the academic portion of the project. “We worked very hard to integrate the project into our social studies curriculum at every grade level.” The Habitat project was fully funded by the Canyon community. The required $85,000 to build the house was raised by the students and through private donations. The price includes the cost of the land, as well as construction materials. Habitat for Humanity says the only way it can afford to build a house at that price is because of volunteer labor. Canyon students started fundraising soon after the idea to build the house was hatched in the fall. Their efforts included a Halloween candy drive in which a sponsor bought back 15,000 pieces of candy for 10 cents a piece. Another fundraising project was “Count Your Lucky Stars,” in which students donated money they earned by doing chores at home. A third project involved selling their creative talents. Drawings by the children of Canyon’s historic one-room schoolhouse (now the library) were packaged as stationery, six cards selling for $10. Other ways the students gave? Two children in one Canyon family had birthday parties and requested checks for Habitat instead of birthday presents. Other students did a similar thing around the holidays, asking for money to help fund the project instead of their usual Christmas and Hanukkah gifts. “It is remarkable what the students and members of this community have done to be able to support Habitat for Humanity’s rebuilding efforts in the Gulf,” says Erin Rank, President/CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. “This partnership is a wonderful example of what can happen when like-minded, goodhearted people are moved to action.” (Editor’s note: “What makes a House a Home?” is the theme of this year’s Canyon school fair being held today from 5 to 7 p.m. Photos taken by the students of the Habitat project will be on display. For volunteer opportunities with Habitat for Humanity in L.A. call 323-4663.)