Vanguard gives a helping hand

Vanguard students are stepping up after over 67 tornadoes struck in just this past week. The worst tornado of them all hit Sunday night at 6 PM; it destroyed over half of Joplin, Missouri. 132 people are dead, and 156 are still missing.

This heartbreaking news hit home to many Vanguard students. Four students in particular wanted to step up and do something about it. What started out as a health class project quickly turned into a school fundraiser.

Angie Mazanova, Eli Martinez, AJ Bays, and Kayla Woodward put together a project in hopes to raise money and supplies for the victims of the tornado. Eli and AJ stood in front of the school at big team this morning and presented a devastating Power Point. It consisted of an aerial view of the tornados path, a video of the actual tornado, and pictures of the destroyed community. Minutes after the presentation, Vanessa Cardona jumped in to help the cause. “I’m going to make an add about the Joplin tornado so we can get Forestview to help us with our donations,” said Vanessa.

Every pair of eyes in the room was glued to the screen as they watched what it was like for these people to loose everything in the snap of a finger. A choked up Ms. O’Neill shared that a few of her friends’ homes were destroyed in this natural disaster. “Vanguard students and their compassion has really brought my friend and his family hope during an extremely rough time.”

“We’re trying to make students aware. A lot of kids didn’t know about the tornado until Wednesday. We’re trying to tell them how much Joplin needs help and how much the donations we can give mean to people down there,” stated Kayla Woodward.

Any one and every one can do a little something to help raise money for Joplin citizens. A list was passed out during big team that consists of supplies that can be donated. There is also a can next to the coffee cart for money donations. If a student needs to borrow a writing utensil, they will face a fee. The money will be given to Joplin.

Every penny counts. As of this afternoon, Vanguard raised over 40 dollars. Students hope to make this an all-building fundraiser.

“Seeing the images of devastation reinforces how grateful I am for all of the things that I do have and it makes all the little things in life that I stress about seem insignificant,” stated Ms. Felfe.

Story by Annemarie Schaefer