Teaching how to give back

By Heidelberg Middle SchoolJanuary 10, 2011

Teaching how to give back
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HEIDELBERG, Germany - Students at Heidelberg Middle School learned the lesson that giving to others who are in need gives the holidays an extra sense of meaning.

The teachers comprising Heidelberg Middle School's seventh grade team B led by Sylvia Rausch have been doing charity work since the early 1990s.

Last year, teachers expanded their charitable reach by forming a partnership with German, Hungarian and French military reservists.

Through this partnership, they have sent transports of much-needed basic items to the community of Eger, Hungary.

"The teachers, staff and students of HMS collected twice the amount of goods as last year," Rausch said.

Among the items collected were sheets, towels, blankets and kitchen wares for a local hospital. School supplies, numerous boxes of shoes, clothing, and toys and several bicycles were donated.

Last June, Rausch and her husband went to Eger, Hungary, to meet the people benefitting from these deliveries.

Rausch spent quite a bit of time with the principal of the Hungarian high school that the collections support and also met with a former teacher. Rausch also "spent a wonderful evening with the lady who is in charge of distributing clothing, toys, etc. to the many large, needy families.

This woman was in tears thanking me for all our kids did," she said. "We continue to send pictures back and forth, with the hopes that we may some day even have a student exchange between the schools," Rausch added.

She said she hopes that giving to those in this less fortunate community will remind the students how fortunate they are and of all they have to be thankful for.