On Thursday, Feb. 26, over 30 7th and 8th Grade families came together via Zoom for our first Middle School Service Learning event of 2021! The School once again partnered with the GO Campaign, which introduced us to the Hands Across Watts Initiative (HAWI). This initiative was created to provide academic tutoring, access to the internet, STEM programming, and mental health counseling to children and youth who are at risk of falling behind due to lack of resources in the community.
Volunteers heard from three “Local Heroes” who discussed how HAWI was created, in addition to how COVID has severely impacted low-income families. They also discussed the various ways black and brown communities were particularly affected, including lack of insurance or access to healthcare, deficits in laptops and other technology for students to learn remotely, loss of jobs, and being unable to pay bills.
Said Go Campaign’s Gina Katz, “We are so grateful to the Windward community for another incredible opportunity to share the work GO Campaign is doing right here in our own backyard. We truly believe that when good people come together, there’s no measure to the impact we can make. From mental health resources to STEM education to food distribution to physical education—we’re creating a community built on trust, love, and mentorship. Every child has the right to a fair chance at life, and we cannot thank you enough for helping us help as many children as possible! You make us GO!”
Windward Service Learning is currently accepting food and/or household items to be distributed through HAWI. If you are interested in participating, please contact Ashley Goodman at agoodman@windwardschool.org or Robin Pickett at rpickett@windwardschool.org.