Schoo Student Peace group raises funds for local refugees

Following the One Book, One Schoo project, members of the Student Peace group at Schoo Middle School decided they had an opportunity to make a difference right here in Lincoln.

Speaking about the book “Refugee” by Alan Gratz, Schoo eighth-grade student Lily said, “We all felt inspired by the book, so we decided to help some local refugees out. We heard from one refugee, then we decided that we’d use the money we raise from some of our activities to help sponsor refugees from Lutheran Family Services.”

During the first semester the student group raised $865 through various activities. Student Peace presented the check to Joel Stoltenow from Lutheran Family Services at the group’s January meeting.

“You are helping people who in their country, many of them have seen war every day,” said Stoltenow. “In fact, most of them have probably lost a family member to some sort of violence or civil war. To be put on the refugee list, they had to have their life at some point put in danger because of problems they did not create.”

Stoltenow told students the funds will help families start the settling process, giving them food and furnishings.

Schoo eighth-grader Kalen said it felt good to be able to donate. “You can make a big difference in someone’s life with a little bit of money.”

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