Students Helping Students
Lamplighter students helped provide comfort to abused and neglected children by assembling hygiene kits and donating them to Community Partners of Dallas.
“It’s fun helping other people,” said Azal, a first-grader at Lamplighter.
Azal captured the feeling of students who donated, assembled, and delivered hygiene kits for children that are removed from their homes. The kits included shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.
Joan Hill, Lamplighter’s head of school, explained why the school is interested in being so involved in the community.
“Through our efforts with Community Partners, we are hoping to ease a difficult situation for a young child,” she said. “Lamplighter is committed to working to improve the lives of children in small ways each day.”
Community Partners of Dallas is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring safety, restoring dignity, and bringing hope to abused children. The organization provides resources and support to the caseworkers of Dallas County Child Protective Services so they, in turn, can offer tangible help to families in need. Once a child is removed from their home, they have nothing other than the clothes on their back. The kits, which also contained handmade artwork and notes from pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes, were delivered in person by Lamplighter students.
Paige McDaniel, president and CEO of Community Partners, was thankful for the donations and called the hygiene products “critical” for children in protective care.
“It is hard to feel good about yourself when you lack tools as basic as a toothbrush or soap,” she said. “Lamplighter’s collection of items will ensure that many children can feel better about themselves, and feel confident as they move forward.”
