WCDS Kicks Off Change for Change Drive

Westchester Country Day School kicked off its annual C.A.R.E.S. Crews Change for Change coin drive.

Eight groups of students representing the Lower, Middle and Upper schools nominated charitable organizations to receive this year's donations. The groups gave speeches on behalf of their causes, and then students in grades PK-12 voted for four finalists.

The following organizations will receive this year's donations:

• The HEARTest Yard, nominated by Madeline Johrendt and Evans Elliott, sixth grade
• Bingham Academy, nominated by Joshua Bayne, Jacob Johnson, Caleb Hammond, Carson Daniel, Connor Apple, Ben Hunsberger, and Hannah Melgar, 11th grade
• March of Dimes, nominated by Katherine Walter, 11th grade
• HorsePOWER Therapeutic Learning Center, nominated by Isabella Reid, 11th grade

In addition to the four organizations selected, students also nominated Kisses for Kate (Mallory Atkinson, Joshua Bayne, Lyndon Briggs, Emilie Carey, Lauren Cockrum, Finn Fleming, Covington Hauser, Abby Keever, Hannah Melgar, Will Rives), High Point Regional Health Foundation: Pink Ribbon Luncheon (Annarose Fielden and Grace Patron, sixth grade), North Carolina Firefighter Fund (Misha Cap, seventh grade), and Hopefulls (Weant Cromer, second grade, and Justice Hairfield, first grade).

Students will now bring in the loose change they have collected in a competition to see which C.A.R.E.S. Crews will collect the most. As students bring in money, the coins are tallied and stickers representing each dollar are added to large piggy banks displayed in the Wilson Center. The collection continues through March 28 when the final tally of coins will be announced at a school-wide finale assembly.

Change for Change is an annual project of Westchester’s C.A.R.E.S. Crews program, which gets younger and older students working together multiple times a year on projects that show compassion, awareness, responsibility, empathy and service to others. During the Change for Change coin drive, students are encouraged to collect loose change for the purpose of making a positive impact for service-minded organizations. It is a practical opportunity to connect character and service with classroom subjects such as math, social studies and language arts.

All four of the organizations selected have a personal connection to members of the WCDS community:

The HEARTest Yard
Through a partnership between the Greg Olsen Foundation and Atrium Health Foundation, the HEARTest Yard Fund offers a range of services, including in-home private nursing care, physical therapy and speech therapy, at no charge to families. The program aims to help prevent children's complications from congenital heart disease and improve their long-term health. This initiative is a family service program administered in conjunction with Levine Children's Hospital, making the transition from the hospital to the home much easier for families of infants affected by congenital heart disease. Madeline Johrendt, sixth grade, has a family member with a personal connection to this charity. When her cousin was born, he had to go into surgery. When it was time for him to go home, they had a private nurse for six months until his next surgery, thanks to the HEARTest yard. He is 2, turning 3 in May, and he will have another surgery after his birthday. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome can not be cured.

Bingham Academy
Bingham Academy is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and its mission is to "provide quality Christian education within a multicultural community, developing students of integrity who can change the world for God's glory." Bingham Academy values resilience, reflection, curiosity, integrity, collaboration and creativity. The academy has full-time staff and volunteers seeking to help children and young people. All teachers at Bingham Academy are volunteers, including former WCDS teacher Mr. Lee Lancaster and his wife, Mrs. Cindy Lancaster.

March of Dimes
March of Dimes is an organization committed to preventing maternal health risks and deaths and preventing preterm birth and infant death. Katherine Walter, an 11th grader, has a personal experience with March of Dimes. She was born severely prematurely and in the NICU for 101 days. The resources provided by March of Dimes for families in the NICU were instrumental in helping her parents through this stressful time.

HorsePOWER Therapeutic Learning Center
Isabella Reid, an 11th grader, volunteers with HorsePower Therapeutic Learning Center and shares that the best part is seeing the smiles on the faces of everyone involved. HorsePOWER is a non-profit organization that specializes in equine-assisted activities and therapy. The organization works with veterans and children to overcome their obstacles, whether they may be physical, intellectual, or emotional. Not only does it make the students' lives better, but it also makes the volunteers' lives better.