Seniors in social studies and religion classes at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park were moved when they learned about the plight of Syrian refugees. They decided to take matters into their own hands to try to help them.
“I felt sad listening to stories of the civil war in Syria and about how it’s been dragging on for years,” said senior Maddy Schierl, 18, of La Grange Park. “I thought ‘Oh. This is affecting so many people and so many children.'”
She and other seniors have banded together to form Seniors for Syria. The group is raising money that they will donate to a nonprofit organization, Jusoor which, according to its website, is a group of Syrian expatriates supporting the country’s development and helping Syrian youth realize their potential in education and career development.
The students’ goal is to raise $10 for every one of the 190 students in the senior class. So far, they have raised about $1,000 by placing coffee cans in classrooms where students can deposit their donations.
Schierl, along with Bridget Brodlo of Indian Head Park and Molly Owens of La Grange Park, are spearheading the effort.
“We learned about (the needs of refugees) when were studying about the Arab Spring,” Owens said. “We wanted to come up with something, anything to help them.”
“We were really touched by it,” said Brodlo.
The chose the nonprofit they are assisting because helping young people is a focus of its mission.
“We’re a school so we thought it would be a good thing to help other students,” said Schierl, who said refugee children have a lot of needs including catching up with studies that have missed, dealing with trauma and integrating into a school system when they leave a refugee camp.
The students chose Jusoor after another member of the social studies department, teacher Anthony Gonzalez, introduced the students to Allie Chen, a United Nations consultant and child protection and mental health specialist in conflict zones. Schierl, Brodlo and Owens had a Skype conversation with Chen who recommended several nonprofits helping kids in Syria. From that list, the seniors chose Jusoor, Schierl said.
Social studies teacher Jon Paul Jurasas is proud of what the students have taken on.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “The entire thing is driven by something they wanted to do and they were inspired by the content of the class.”
The students are not deterred by President Donald Trump’s executive order, which put a ban on the entrance of Syrian refugees into the U.S. The ban has since been temporarily lifted by a federal court.
“We started this before that came out,” Schierl said. “I was infuriated because our country has so much to offer and (refugees) have so much to offer us.”
What they have raised will be matched by $500 from the Senior Board, which is smaller version of a student council for the senior class. The students will continue to collect donations through the end of February.
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Brodlo said she hopes students will continue to contribute.
“We’re trying to put the emphasis on the humanitarian side of this and not the politics,” she said.
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