North Allegheny Intermediate High School is more than 1,300 miles from Houston, but students there reached out to help.When Brendan Hyland began seeing news reports about the devastation Hurricane Harvey caused in Houston, he started looking for a way to help.
Hyland is principal of North Allegheny Intermediate High School (NAI) in Pittsburgh, PA. His students and staff are Tigers, and he felt sure he could find some Tigers in Houston. He found them at Spring Branch ISD’s Spring Woods High School. When he saw SBISD Superintendent Scott Muri’s Twitter appeal for the SBEF Harvey Relief Fund, he shared the possibilities with his students.
“We felt awful for your students,” Hyland said. “We looked for a way for Tigers to help Tigers.”
As an intermediate high school, NAI includes 9th and 10th grades. Fundraisers are student-led.
First, the students sold links for a paper chain that would extend down a long hallway. Students, staff and parents bought the links for $1 each, and the chain grew past expectations.
Next, the Student Council voted for $5 of each ticket to the school’s homecoming dance to benefit the SBEF Harvey Relief Fund. After the tickets were sold, the Student Council added another $2,000.
By the end of October, NAI had a check for $6,429 in the mail to the Spring Branch Education Foundation. Students are considering a third Harvey-related fundraiser.
Hyland said he’s proud of his students. “They’re good kids, just like yours in Spring Branch.”
“When we started the SBEF Harvey Relief Fund, we knew our big-hearted donors would want to help their neighbors,” said Cece Thompson, SBEF executive director. “To hear from schools across the country was a complete surprise. These are kids who can imagine what it must be like to go to school when you’ve lost all your clothes and familiar surroundings. They’ve never met our SBISD students, but they want to help.”
The SBEF Harvey Relief Fund has received contributions from nine schools, including NAI, and continues to hear from others.
SBISD officials estimate there are as many as 1,000 student and staff families displaced by Harvey. Others may be identified. SBEF continues to distribute $300 Target and Walmart gift cards to help families meet their most pressing needs, whether it’s food, clothing or supplies. There are no administrative costs, so all donations go to families to fill the gaps not met by other local and federal efforts.
Community members who wish to donate may visit the SBEF Harvey Relief Fund site.
About Spring Branch Education Foundation:
Spring Branch Education Foundation is committed to supporting SBISD students and educators. It partners with the district and community to fund programs that enhance education and ̅students for the future. In 2016, Caruthers Institute ranked SBEF 42nd in the nation among 188 K-12 education foundations and in the top 10 of its division of foundations with $1 million to $1,999,999 in revenues. Since 1993, the Foundation has donated more than $11 million to the district. SBEF is a 501(c)3 organization; all donations are tax deductible.
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