Phoenixville Students Commit to Charitable Causes

By Holly Mandia

PHOENIXVILLE, PA – During a ceremony today, Christine Herman, Lower School Principal at Renaissance Academy Charter School recognized students for their outstanding personal commitment to making the world a better place by participating in the Knights to the Rescue program. This program afforded student and opportunity to get involved and speak out in support of causes that are near and dear to their hearts.

This effort all started with an ambitious 2nd grader, Sage O'Brien, who wanted to find a safe home for the wolves in Pennsylvania. Sage read a story about the shrinking habitat of the wolves and decided that she was going to take action. Her compassionate energy spread quickly and students of all ages in the Lower School shared their compelling story for community outreach. Students spoke out about preserving animal habitats and rescuing abused animals. Students who have been touched by cancer or family members who courageously battled life threatening illnesses stepped up and spoke out.

On December 9th, all Lower School students were invited to dress down and donate a dollar. The students were encouraged to dress in color which would represent their own personal causes. Some dressed in pink for breast cancer awareness, others in orange to support Leukemia research. Sage O’Brien dressed in gray in support her beloved gray wolves. Because of the leadership of these participants, the over $500 raised on this dress down day will be given to ten great organizations

If students were interested, they were invited to go one step further and record a 30-45 second video in hopes to build awareness of the chosen cause and to inspire others to join in support. These videos can be viewed on the Knights to the Rescue website at https://sites.google.com/rak12.org/knights-to-the-rescue/home.

The following is a list of the participating students along with their chosen causes:

• Sage O’Brien, Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania
• Vincent Laurento, Good Samaritan Shelter
• Tenley Dakota, Mia Ibrahim and Ava Salamone, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
• Danika Gahr, the Ellie Reynolds ALS Foundation
• Bryce Atherholt, Retired Racehorse Project
• Mason Rittenger, Steps to Cure Sarcoma
• Harper and Will Risch, All 4 Paws
• Gabriella Andreoni and Meadow Baran, Panda's International
• Molly Travis, The Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children
• Grace Scott, Sabrina DiFiore, and Kayla Colley , St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital

Melissa Laurento, Lower School Counselor said, “I am so very proud of these students for thinking of others and wanting to help those in need. The event is particularly remarkable because it was truly a student-driven project. We hope to continue the program and expand upon it in the future.”

Image courtesy Holly Mandia