Two Penhold Crossing Secondary School students are stepping up to make a difference in the world.
Brett Bailey and Ryan Clarke, both Grade 11 students at the school, made a presentation to Penhold council in March about a new project that would see them and other students participate in a Me To We Trip and help a developing country.
“The hope is since we only have one more year left in high school, we want to inspire students within our school and create a ripple effect for future leaders in the school,” said Bailey, noting they hope to make the trip an annual event.
To ensure that that opportunity is shared with other students after they graduate next year, they created a non-profit organization called The Ripple Initiative.
The Ripple Initiative was created in 2015 and consists of a group of dedicated young people who want to help raise awareness about access to clean water, issues in developing countries, and to empower youth to get involved, and provide them with the opportunity to travel overseas and see their local ideas and initiatives implemented globally.
Bailey and Clarke are hoping to go on a Me To We trip to a developing country by the end of 2017. As part of the Me To We trip the students will help build wells, schools and homes to help improve the community of a developing nation.
To help reach their goal, Bailey and Clarke have hosted a couple of fundraisers, including a talent show at the high school and a wake-a-thon that was held on April 29 and 30.
“It's a good way for kids to have fun and learn something too,” said Bailey.
Their goal was to raise enough money to send two students on a Me To We trip. They need to raise $10,000 in order to do that, noted Bailey. Money raised will go towards the non-profit Ripple Initiative, which will be used to help send students on next year's journey as well as trips beyond.
Their overall objective is to help make a difference.
“As a kid growing up I've always been taught to help others as much as I can,” said Clarke. “That's a dream for me to go and help someone else that's worse off than me.”
Bailey agreed.
“People in First World countries don't realize how fortunate we are,” he said. “I think that participating in a Me To We trip will broaden my spectrum and allow me to appreciate it a lot more.”
The wake-a-thon, which ran after school from 3:30 p.m. on April 29 until 11 a.m. the next day, focused on activities surrounding water (throughout the fundraiser) to help people realize what it's like to live in a developing country, noted Bailey.
Their goal was to see 100 students participate and raise about $4,000.
Mark Crawford, the principal at Penhold Crossing Secondary School, said this was a student-led initiative that will help raise awareness and teach them important lessons in the process.
“We're really proud that they're looking at a world issue, not just something local or something that benefits themselves,” said Crawford. “We know that this will have impact, not only in the Third World, but an impact right here amongst our students as they move forward in life, grow and mature.”
For more information visit The Ripple Initiative on Facebook.
Brett Bailey
"The hope is since we only have one more year left in high school, we want to inspire students within our school and create a ripple effect for future leaders in the school."
