Students Learn Lifelong Lessons By Adopting Family

From left, Sidney Schrand, Morgan Merlino, and Devesha Dorchy, say they’ve grown personally after spearheading a class LINK Crew project to adopt a local family for Christmas. (Photos submitted)

• Get the free daily Farmington-Farmington Hills Patch newsletter and news alerts and like us on Facebook

FARMINGTON, MI – A simple challenge to members of Farmington High School LINK Crew — whose primary job is helping freshmen students acclimate to high school — has developed into what the participants think will become a lifetime tradition of giving.

The 14 students in the class, and by extension the entire FHS student body, staff and families, adopted a local family to provide Christmas gifts. The idea came up in a classroom discussion of Sean Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide.”

“We were talking about how to give back, how to pay it forward and a class project they could take on,” said teacher Lynda Shannon, who coordinates the FHS LINK Crew with Kirsten Gentry.

The family, whose identities the students don’t know, was selected through Volunteers of America, a national nonprofit that helps some of society’s most vulnerable citizens. The family has three children — two boys, ages 9 and 4, and a girl, 14.

The students were shocked by the family’s circumstances.

“It’s made me think more about what people have and don’t have, especially someone so near to us that we could help” Morgan Merlino.

They were also stunned by their fellow students’ generosity. Through the sale of “thank-you grams” for a buck apiece and donations from the community at large, they raised $600.

“We were really questioning if it would work,” Merlino said.

“The other students’ generosity was the biggest thing,” said Sidney Schrand. “It’s amazing high school students were able to raise so much.”

Merlino said the experience changed her perspective about how small gestures can turn into large community efforts.

“I feel like a better person,” she said. “I think this changed me, and how I look at the world.Something as little as helping a family turned into a huge community project.”

Devesha Dorchy said she learned leadership skills that she will use in the future.

“I feel like I’ve grown and have a more generous spirit and willingness to try to help someone else instead of just being selfish,” Dorchy said. “I’m more appreciative of what I have, and think less about what I don’t have.”

Shannon and Gentry purchased gift cards with the money, which was also used to ensure that each child in the family had new boots and a warm coat for the winter.

“This brought our whole school and community together,” Merlino said. “It reminded everyone what Christmas is all about — helping people in need.”

The students said they will look at community service differently in the future.

“It’s something we stress a lot, but this isn’t just about accumulating community service hours, but helping out a family in a truly selfless way,” Schrand said. “Instead of a chore, it’s something we want to do.”