Learning through CARITAS

CARITAS is an event at my church that I’m forever counting down the days until it comes. I love to get involved and hang out with all of the amazing people I get to meet and befriend. These men who come to my church for two weeks in February are homeless. They all have different stories, but the one issue they all have in common is that they need help and friends. One of the terrible aspects of being homeless, besides not having a home, is the snowball effect that comes with it. Once a person is homeless, often they don’t have money for food, it is extremely hard to get a job, they don’t have any family or either they were disowned, and the list keeps going and the snowball grows bigger and bigger until it’s an avalanche of misfortune. Many consider anyone who is homeless to be a “bad person” or a “convict” because how else could they end up homeless? Well, this is absolutely wrong. By working through CARITAS, I have experienced the most extraordinary people who helped me look into myself and change.
Last February while volunteering at my church, I met someone who inadvertently impacted my life. His name was Rodney and while I don’t know how he actually became homeless, I know enough. Rodney was searching long and hard to find a good, providing job because he needed to get his little girl through college. Every time he spoke about her, he would just light up as bright as the sun and a wistful look would flash across his face: a mixture of hope and faith. He had me pleading with my parents to go to church almost every night for the two weeks he was there just so I could play games with him and listen to all the wisdom he had to share with me. He became my friend and had me wanting to change the way I lived my life, because how could this man who did not have a home, food, money, or a job have so much more life and spark than me, who has all of those things?
I am not the only one who has experienced this eye-opening experience from a homeless person. Wendy, one of the leaders of Embrace Richmond, has encountered a very similar situation. She graciously came to Thomas Dale and told us her story of Stephanie, which sounded like Rodney. These remarkable people are the ones Embrace Richmond, the Red Cross Efforts in Japan and now the musicians in Thomas Dale’s own Rock4Life concert are trying to help! Even through their struggles, the Rodneys and Stephanies in the world are the ones who show the most faith, hope, love and gratitude. Let us reach out to our friends and help pull them back up. They deserve more, and with our help they can finally have the life they’ve been dreaming of.

~Kaleigh W.

Homelessness

Homelessness is not only a distant problem.  It is not a trouble faced by others only in far away countries who we cannot relate to.  Homelessness is an unfortunate situation that affects more than 842,000 people a week in the United States.  Another astonishing number (from 2005) estimates over 300 million individuals worldwide are homeless. 

 I cannot recount the first time I witnessed this tragedy-probably when I was a blessed, young, curly-haired blonde with a warm, inviting home and bed I was sure to sleep in every night.  While I looked up at the glow-in-the-dark adhesive shooting stars on my ceiling and wished for the next popular toy, another little girl was peering up at the real stars wishing for a bed.  Granted, I, along with us all, was expectantly ignorant as a child to the complications of the world.  We are old enough now, old enough to understand and make conscious decisions to help each other.  Not one person on this very earth deserves to be homeless.

 The thought of such a large number of people experiencing homelessness-kids my age and younger, older adults, unlucky all the same- brings tears to my eyes.  Unfortunately though, in this community, I see homelessness.  There are the rickety, old cars you see around town sometimes with “stuff” packed like sardines in all the air space available.  Now this does not mean this person is homeless, but when you are stopped at a red light, and coincidently turn and gaze into their eyes at the precise moment they do the same, it is impossible to deflect the hurt and heart-wrenching emotions in their eyes.  Impossible.  I have seen this hurt.  I have looked into a stranger’s eyes and known their life story, their suffering.  It hurts me too.  So when you see this, the natural human response it to shut out these harsh feelings and emotions.  You ignore the look from the person beside you when they may scare you.  You roll up the window when the person stands on the street asking for money.  Really though, we should be rolling down the window and offering silent presents and smiles of encouragement. It is easy to see that they have struggles and difficulties.  If they are homeless, the last thing society should do is shut them out too.  As Robert Fulghum said many times, “When you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”  It couldn’t be more true to me that, in general, you never know how gracious a roof is until you’ve heard the story of someone without one.

~Cameron Kiddy

Home sweet home

Imagine you’re the breadwinner of your family. Your children and spouse depend on you for their financial needs. That’s why you’re terrified when your boss unexpectedly fires you from your job, thrusting your family into a financial wreck. The house payments creep farther and farther into debt and it’s a wonder the government hasn’t taken your home from you. The children look on curiously.

Imagine you accept your credit card bill, only to find you’re expected to pay up thousands of dollars. Your heart stops and the paper shakes in your hands as you call up the credit company, attesting to the seemly obvious fact that your number was stolen and a thief spent all of the money that’s rightfully yours. The company does not see the problem and insistently demand the payments. The click of the phone on its receiver awakens a mode of panic from within you. You wonder if you can ever afford to eat again, let alone keep our house.

Imagine a tornado erupts from the horizon, steadily making its way toward your house. The winds as it hits are bone-shaking and the darkness of the basement you bunker into is unsettling, but nothing can compare to the nauseating fright you feel deep within your chest when you walk back upstairs, because an upstairs doesn’t exist. There’s nothing there. You fall to your knees in a barren wasteland sprinkled with debris.

Home sweet home.

-Bronwyn Sharpley

What have we been up to?

For the past few weeks, a couple students have been getting together to rehearse arrangements of new songs. Some of the songs include Bring Me To Life by Evanescence and Many Rivers To Cross by Anne Lennox. Not only are these arrangements amazing, but the students love them. We love them, I should say. We also practice some of the new songs in class. One of the latest songs is a Celtic tune arranged by Chris Johnston, our maestro. The music this year is going to be beyond awesome.
In other news, we have settled on our cause and organizations for this year. The cause is homelessness and we are supporting Embrace Richmond and the American Red Cross in tsunami relief efforts for Japan. We feel that homelessness is a worthy cause because nobody deserves to live without a home. We’re working hard to raise money for both organizations already.
In addition, here will be a pancake breakfast on April 23 from 7-10am at the Applebees on Ironbridge Rd. All proceeds will go to the concert and the organizations.

L. Butler

Stand up for Kids!

When I was about five years old, I decided to run away from home. I was mad at my mom for some reason, so I packed a few belongings, put a blanket over my head, and walked into the rainy streets of Los Angeles. I was about a block away, when my mother came to bring me back home. I never thought about where I would get food, or even where I would sleep. I don’t often have to think about such issues; however, millions of children in America have to make those decisions every day. Homelessness is often a never-ending cycle, for one cannot get a job without a home and one cannot get a home without a job. Stand up for Kids is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids who live on the street. Currently, there are about 2 million homeless children, with most between the ages of 15 and 17. Many struggle with getting an education, and also homeless children are more likely to suffer from depression and other related diseases. Stand up for Kids provides “from basic necessities such as food, clothing, and hygiene to resources for housing, employment, and education.” The organization also provides counseling to children. “Since 1990, Stand Up For Kids volunteers have performed almost a million hours of community service, conducted more than 100,000 counseling sessions, and provided more than 1,000,000 meals to homeless and street kids and at-risk youth.” Through Stand up for Kids, Rock4Life will help give a voice to the homeless youth of America.

~Maya E.

Doughnut Fundraiser!

  To raise money for our 2011 concert in support of the homeless we decided to sell boxes of heaven. That’s right; I’m talking about nothing other then the original Krispy Kreme Doughnuts! The second we first embarked on this idea it immediately took off running.  What high school student doesn’t love doughnuts? After working out all the fine details we finally were able to put the order in for 250 boxes of original glazed doughnuts. We started selling pre-order doughnuts for seven dollars a box. Once the pre-orders were all in, we were able to buy an appropriate number of those delicious little pastries.  On February 17th and 18th, people’s days were made when they received their box with 12 delectable doughnuts inside. The extra boxes were sold for 8 dollars or you could have bought a single doughnut for 75 cents.  In the end, we sold all 250 boxes and raised a whopping amount of 1, 072. 30!!! All this money will go towards the concert and helping homeless people have a place to go to and call home. Thank you to everyone who was apart of this wonderful process!

Our Cause for 2011!

After much discussion, debate, and more discussion, the Rock 4 Life Leadership Team has decided on our cause for 2011. As we have learned throughout the past five years of Rock 4 Life, every cause is an good cause, and, if we could, we would willingly give time and energy towards bringing awareness to them all. However, for 2011, Rock 4 Life will be raising awareness for homelessness, a concern that is seen daily not only in our own city but in every city in the world.

How tragic that some people cannot return home after a hard day’s work because they have no home! And, sadly, many of these homeless people do not have friends or family for comfort or money for shelter! The lucky ones can afford a shelter like a motel or even sleep in their cars. And a few can gather together in the houses of family and friends as did some during this past holiday season. But what about those people who are not so fortunate? What can they do?

In May at our Rock 4 Life concert, we hope to inspire our audience by bringing awareness. All of us, from our tech crew to our band to our orchestra, are passionate about helping and showing our audience the need to bring a feeling of security to those without the comfort of a home. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have a home to call our own, we tend to overlook this widespread concern. However, when we imagine wishing for warmth from a decent blanket instead of curling up in our own beds in a home with heat and electricity, we feel compelled to give comfort in some form, be it in donating to a local homeless shelter or in buying a ticket to our Rock 4 Life concert.

A Team Effort

Today, about twenty Rock 4 Life members met to put in motion plans for each organized group responsible for some aspect of Rock 4 Life. Slowly, but definitely surely, our groups are growing in size and plans! For example, our social media group is using multiple social networks to spread the word about Rock 4 Life. Design and Transformation will ask our various artists to use their fantastic skills to transform our concert venue into a spectacular setting for Rock 4 Life. Our arrangers are working to arrange songs and to meet deadlines. Podcasting will interview various people involved throughout the entire process. And, of course, where would we be without the efforts of our orchestra, chorus, theater production students, and band Offering? And these groups are just a few of the many!

EVERY group is important! Without the cooperation of one or the other, we would not be able to have a concert as successful as we would hope for. Rock 4 Life is truly a team effort. And with each group, our team is going to bring to the stage an awesome Rock 4 Life concert this coming May, celebrating our 5th year!

A New Year!

Even while spending summer days on the beach or with friends, Rock 4 Life members are already preparing for a new year and the upcoming May 2011 Rock 4 Life concert! The first leadership meeting was held a few weeks ago in August. Over cups of coffee and excited exchanges of summer adventures, plans were set in place for the upcoming year. Organization was divided into groups, from social media to design to production. The leaders and consultants for each contributing group were established, and each leader spoke about his or her ideas/plans for his or her group. Schedules were handed out, and plans were formed to involve the prospective members of each group. All in all, our first meeting was a success! Hopefully, the enthusiasm of our meeting will continue to grow as the year progresses and more permanent plans for Rock 4 Life 2011 are set!

~Ellynn Loftus

Students care about Rock 4 Life!

With Rock 4 Life less than two weeks away, Thomas Dale students are going into overdrive to make this concert amazing! Rehearsing and perfecting songs in class, selling tickets, and, of course, spreading the word about the concert occupy our time together.
But we are not working for ourselves, the Thomas Dale High School Orchestra, chorus, or Offering band. We are giving this concert for the children at risk of abuse, those kids fighting for their lives inside and outside of their homes. And we give this concert to those kids whose cries for help go unheard. Children should not be silenced because they are young and at the mercy of adults.
Our concert will provide those children with a voice through music. And, hopefully, through our music, people can hear the cries of those children.

~ Ellynn L.