ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHT

7th and 8th Graders Gear Up for Activism Project at Camp Sunshine

This year’s Activism Project follows a series of annual student-initiated social justice projects, such as political lobbying in Washington D.C. and Albany, volunteering with community-based NYC nonprofits, a trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and a Speak-Out Against Hate in Central Park.

After lengthy discussion about ideas ranging from global warming to the presidential election, the students chose to partner with Camp Sunshine, located in Casco, Maine, which creates free summer and year-round programming for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Many of us have personal connections to the camp, since it is run by the parents of an MCS 8th grader. The school has an established relationship with Camp Sunshine and each summer, teachers are awarded grants to volunteer there. We also learned of the camp through our late kindergarten teacher, Toni-Leigh. She cared deeply about the organization and we feel that this is a fitting way to honor her memory.

Through the creation of a new curriculum, the establishment of a speaker series and events that will bring together the Manhattan Country School and Camp Sunshine communities, we are educating ourselves and our school community about the experiences of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. We will also focus on the issues of health care in this country, examining questions of limited access and funding for new research, as well as the new proposals for universal health coverage. In April, we will travel to the Maine campus to help prepare the facility for the arrival of families. We will initiate a new “green campus” campaign, establishing relationships with local farmers, planning additions to the garden and setting up a recycling program. We will also paint murals in the newly renovated building and update the library with new book selections. Our students wish to give the children of Camp Sunshine the best possible resources.

These students are determined to raise the funds required for this effort as a group, enabling every member of the class to participate regardless of their family’s ability to pay. They are halfway towards the $20,000 goal, raising almost $10,000 from a mail solicitation and school fundraisers, including shoelace and hat sales, bake sales, film nights and an Activism Carnival.

To contribute to the Activism Project, please donate online through Network for Good (please write "Activism Project" in the designation field) or send a check payable to Manhattan Country School to the following address:

Activism Project
c/o Rachel Sussman
Manhattan Country School
7 East 96th St.
New York, NY 10128

Read about the trip in the students' words!
Learn more about Camp Sunshine!