Posted 3:44 am Sunday, February 20, 2011
Students Write Essays Of Hope For PATH
More than 70 area elementary, high school and home school students entered essays on the topic "How I Can Help Fight Poverty" in a contest sponsored by PATH.
Winners were chosen in elementary, middle and high school categories.
Judges were Dave Berry, editor of The Courier-Times--Telegraph, Dennis Cullinane, East Texas Food Bank executive director and Christina Fulsom, PATH executive director.
Authors of the winning essays received awards from Carmike Cinemas, Double Dave's and Orange Leaf and a certificate of recognition and T-shirts from PATH.
The essays are below.
ESSAY
By Abigail Milawski
St. Gregory
St. Gregory
The definition of the word poverty is a state of not having enough money or material possessions to survive. There are many people in the world today who barely have enough money to live. In Tyler, the poverty level is about 22 percent of the number of people who live here. So we ask how can we help fight poverty for our community?
Some simple ideas are to include your church. Ask your priest to add to the church announcements the need to help fight poverty. The church can help by opening a food pantry in its local community.
Another idea is to put posters around town that say "help stop poverty in our community." These posters will raise awareness to our community about the need to help others. We can also donate food to local charities, such as the East Texas Food Bank, PATH or the Salvation Army that feed those in need. If you have a pen pal you can write them a letter about the need to raise awareness about poverty and ask them to put up posters in their neighborhood.
The local hospitals and doctors could donate medicine or their time to help the sick. The hospitals could set up mobile clinics that travel to the low income neighborhoods to provide health care at no cost. They could educate the people on proper health care.
I could talk to the Salvation Army about getting local Boy Scout Troops, such as Troop 333 to build a cafeteria that could provide meals for the homeless or low income families. Get your local food bank to donate money and food to the cafeteria that the Boy Scouts built. Finally, the most important step is to educate the local community on the need for fighting poverty in their own towns. I could do this by starting with my family and friends. I would need to go talk to our Mayor Barbara Bass and find out where the need is most. Most of all, I would follow what Jesus Christ taught us to do, "love your neighbor as you love yourself."
ESSAY
By Patrick Bassham
Home-Schooler
Home-Schooler
Poverty is a very important issue in America. As of 2008 about 13.2 percent of Americans lived in poverty and it increases yearly. Poverty exists in multiple form such as being homeless, starving, not having enough money to pay bills, or a combination of the three. What is poverty and how should we deal with it? How can some of these problems be remedied? What can a young person do about it?
In the dictionary poverty is decribed as "need." Poverty is not having all of the essential things one needs. We should not treat someone in poverty differently than we would treat anyone else. They deserve the same amount of respect as anyone else.
The issue of poverty is nothing to take lightly. People who live in it suffer daily from lack of food, shelter, and warm clothes and bedding. They need these essential things to live. A teenager cannot build a house for a homeless family by themselves but they can still help. If they volunteer to help construct a house they can make a difference in someone's life as well as gain character through work. Another way teens can help is by collecting food, supplies and clothing for those who cannot afford them. Sometimes giving money will help a homeless person but giving them a homemade meal will help them more and show them you care. The Bible even says "give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread" in Proverbs 30:8. This simply means do not give me extreme riches but give me just what I need. A homeless person would appreciate simple things, such as food, that most people take for granted daily.
So what could a teen do for those who are starving? Donating canned goods and other important things is the best way. Food drives are always collecting canned fruits and vegetables for just that purpose. By giving a few cans of food you can give someone a couple day's worth of food. One who does not get the necessary nutrients they need will have deficiency and will be weak and possibly sick. A simple thing for teenagers to do is go door to door asking neighbors for one can of food to donate to a local food bank. Most families have extra cans of food in the back of their cabinets which would help someone who has not eaten in days.
An old proverb says "Many hands make light work." This is not only true in hard work but also in helping fight poverty. Poverty across the city, state, country and even the world can be combated just by everyone joining together. If many friends joined, one day this issue could be diminished. So the next time you open your refrigerator, ask yourself, "What can some of this food do for someone else?"
ESSAY
By Elise Gerard
All Saints
All Saints
Poverty is, sadly, thriving in the United States. Many individuals, church and other philanthropic organizations have tried to institute ways to help fight poverty. If I have the desire to help, I can contact multiple organizations to make a monetary contribution toward helping families living at below the poverty level at the national, state or local level; however, this is only a temporary solution. Another direction would be to actually help indigent individuals and families to help themselves; find ways that this impoverished segment of the population could provide for themselves, possibly for a lifetime.
Before we can create ways to fight poverty, we must first look at the causes of poverty. Lack of education is a major cause and many times this is passed through generations. If a parent sees no hope for themselves, the child will typically also see no way out of their current lifestyle. These children are given little opportunity to create a better life for themselves and they become caught in a cycle that is very hard to break, especially without any assistance from others who have the education, knowledge and potentially the means to provide for themselves. The children have no resources to explore a different world and better themselves. They are not equipped to change or break the cycle of poverty, so the next generation is predestined to a life of poverty as well.
I understand that those living in poverty need help now. However, I believe that children are the future. I think that by helping children, those children who are currently growing up poor, will be equipped to change the pattern of poverty that they are inheriting from their parents.
I have an idea for a program where teenagers who have the benefit of a good education, those with a certain GPA at the high school l level, could volunteer to help impoverished children; they could "partner" with these children in their education, as a mentor, and also these children could be exposed to a different way of living. The students could tutor the children in school subjects and talk to them about goals, ones that these impoverished children may have considered unattainable, such as college, so they would then have a chance to change their lives for the better. I think that the students would become good examples for the children and create a new image for them to know there is hope for their future. Older children could learn about the possibility of attending college, and the mentoring student could assist them studying for the SAT or applying for scholarships, equip them with the resources they need to succeed. I would begin the program with older students, 16 or over, who have transportation and can meet with the children on a regular basis at a mutually decided place with the approval from parents and faculty. After this program is established, I would set up a sister program where younger students could be helped at a younger age, and set on a good path. I believe that children helping children would work: impoverished children seeing that they can achieve a successful life by working with others of their generation would help to break the cycle of poverty.
They key to making my program work would be to ensure the program is simple to access for students willing to volunteer. Schools with records of high performance can be contacted to see which students would be eligible, and then those students can be asked to volunteer. Community service hours can be offered to those willing to help and they can also be advised by teachers or college counselors to learn of ideas that can aid the child or teenager they are assisting. Schoo
l districts that are predominantly filled with indigent children also can be contacted to extend the news of the program and make it accessible to any who would like to be partnered with a mentor. I would approach City Council to explore funding for resources such as books, computers and general school supplies to equip the students.
I know that many families have become trapped in the cycle of poverty, a great way to help, other than donations, would be to aid indigent children, giving them the tools to become successful, productive adults. As the Chinese Proverb says, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." If altruistic students share their knowledge with less fortunate children of their age, the less fortunate will become equipped to start a better life.
