Old Colony Archives
Old Colony Honor Society seeking pencil donations
By Deina Zartman, Standard-Times correspondent
April 17, 2000
ROCHESTER -- The Old Colony chapter of the National Honor Society is seeking donations for its latest service project, "Caring for the Future."
The idea -- to distribute writing materials to less fortunate children in neighboring communities -- was suggested by vocational coordinator Rita Bretto, who is also a member of the faculty council of the National Honor Society.
"We plan on giving them to shelters that take in families and ... families we know that are unfortunate, because we feel our kids take these for granted," said Chris Watling, library media specialist and National Honor Society advisor.
Because a lot of paper has been donated -- much of it from the school itself -- writing and coloring utensils are sought, including pens, pencils, crayons, markers and colored pencils.
Erasers, sharpeners, rulers, cellophane tape, safety scissors, construction paper, glue, watercolor sets, sticker books, rubber bands and even "easy reading" paperbacks are also welcome.
"What we're going to do is make up individual bags, so that each child will get an individual bag to carry their stuff in," Mrs. Watling said.
Old Colony's National Honor Society, which has just 13 members, has won several National Honor Society awards for past service projects.
For one, they collected books for the Parker School Library.
They won another for their "Share A Little Warmth" project, which they have done for about four years. They collect soup, socks, hats and gloves, which they give to the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center to distribute to families in need.
Recently they completed a quilt project.
They constructed and raffled three quilts, using the money to purchase 17 blankets which they donated to Market Ministries, a shelter in downtown New Bedford for the homeless.
Other students, as well as some volunteers, helped with the project.
"Any activity we have, we try to get the whole school involved," Mrs. Watling said.