The “HAMsters” of Ms. LaRoche’s First Grade Class at Winn Brook School in Belmont (see Belmont First-Graders Want to “Ham It Up”) are just one of the many groups throughout the country who are helping to bring a little Christmas cheer back into the lives of Florida children made homeless by this year’s hurricane damage.
“My little ones, their families and my colleagues here at Winn Brook loved participating in the Toy Drive for Homeless Children in Florida,” said Donna LaRoche. LaRoche, who is a member of the Framingham Amateur Radio Association, has integrated Amateur Radio into her teaching curriculum in innovative ways.
The ARRL Toy Drive will fold into the United Way’s White Doves Holiday Project. Thanks to a disaster services grant from the State of Florida, the Volunteer & Community Resource Center has been developing a strong relationship with local amateurs. “We have been so impressed by the skill and dedication of the ham radio volunteers,” said a United Way spokesperson. “The way ham radio operators nationwide have embraced the White Doves Holiday Project reinforces our already strong opinion of hams.”
LaRoche’s students’ exemplary action just goes to show that you’re never too young to lend a helping hand to your community and to others.
—Thanks, Donna LaRoche and ARRL