Richard L. Graves Middle School held a campaign called GMS for Houston to raise funds for an AVID sister school, Budewig Intermediate School, that was devastated by Hurricane Harvey.
Each classroom was given a bucket with the campaign name to fill with money donations. The students raised nearly $500.
“We are so proud of our kids supporting others in need”, Graves’ principal, Dr. Fraijo, said.
Richard L. Graves and the Houston based school are connected through AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. The program supports educators to prepare students for success through high school and into college.
AVID’s mission is to “close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and and success in a global society”.
Richard L. Graves Middle School is now a certified demonstration school, meaning they are a part of the top 2.7% of all AVID schools in the country.
Along with the donation, the school also sent along this letter written by principal, Dr. Fraijo.
South Whittier School District
RICHARD L. GRAVES MIDDLE SCHOOL
13243 EAST LOS NIETOS ROAD * WHITTIER, CALIFORNIA 90605 * 562-944-0135/ 562-944-9433 FAX
Dear Budewig Intermediate staff, students, and community, October 23, 2017
On behalf of the staff and students of Graves Middle School in South Whittier, California, we want to send our support to all of you as you recover from the devastating hurricane. As we watched the events surrounding Hurricane Harvey we were moved to reach out to an AVID sister school to share our love, and send our support. Every year we conduct an international compassion campaign, three years ago we raised money for caregiver kits for people in Africa with HIV. Two years ago we raised funds for displaced Syrian refugee children in Europe, as we packed backpacks with school supplies for them. Last year we raised funds for Haiti after their devastating hurricane. For Haiti we also packed backpacks with school supplies for the children affected by the devastation. Once we realized that we have a sister school in need we decided to bring our international compassion campaign home to support our brothers and sisters in Texas.
We can only imagine what you have been through, and we hope that our donation can support your needs in some small but meaningful way. But we also want you to know that we care about you and we are thinking about you as we send a token of our love. I am proud to say that our staff and students really stepped up to support your staff and students, as our homeroom classes competed to see who could raise the most funds to assist you. We would love to see some photos of your students and staff, as we would like to put faces to our brothers and sisters at Budewig Intermediate School. Please let us know if there is anything more we can do to support you during these trying times.
Sincerely,
Matthew C. Fraijo, Ph.D.
Principal
Graves Middle School