Home > A patchwork of help—Greenhouse School’s unique approach to Katrina relief

A patchwork of help—Greenhouse School’s unique approach to Katrina relief

by Open-Publishing - Tuesday 20 September 2005

Edito Catastrophes USA Daniel Patrick Welch

by Daniel Patrick Welch

The Hurricane Katrina disaster is bringing out an instinct to help from schools, churches and groups all over the world. However, students at The Greenhouse School are taking a unique approach to helping victims of Katrina—and one that is familiar at the same time. “We wanted to do something, like a lot of people, but we wanted it to be special and in line with how we work,” said Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde, the school’s assistant director.

She and her colleague, Susan Wright, spent the better part of a day
brainstorming with the kids, and what finally emerged was to make and auction a quilt that pays special homage to the culture of New Orleans. Administrative Director Dan Welch explained the significance of quilts in the school’s past. “Sewing is something Julia and Sue have increasingly done with the kids over the years. They made a quilt for a teacher who moved away, one for last year’s
Topsfield Fair, and another for the Queen of Buganda” when she visited the school last month [news - stories].

In fact, the Topsfield Fair is coming up, and the students will use this year’s entry for their “Hurricane Quilt.” They hope to tour the finished product, displaying it at several local venues to create awareness and, they hope, attract increasingly larger bids on this work of art. Only one will be the lucky bidder, but the students won’t turn down any other donations either. They will also be selling their “hope magnets,” hand made buttons with inspirational
themes they used to raise money for tsunami victims earlier this year.

If history is any guide, the results should be impressive. “The kids did an incredible job on the quilt they made for the Queen,” says Wright. “She was just stunned when they presented it to her.”

The students at the year-round school will also put their sewing skills to work making bags for school kits and health kits being organized through a parent’s church, as well as collecting in kind donations that will be brought directly to relief efforts in an 18-wheeler through Grace Church in Lynn.

How much do they hope to raise? The kids are hoping to attract the attention of someone in the entertainment industry. “You never know,” says Nambalirwa-Lugudde, “but it could be one of those things where someone comes out of the blue and bids $500,000.” Wishful thinking? Only time will tell. But whatever the final tally, the kids intend to use it all to help families hurt by the floods. And the lesson they learn from putting their compassion into practice? Priceless.

Photos of students working on the project can be provided as needed. For further information, and for those interested in helping to display the quilt, please contact Dan Welch at wpdanny@netzero.com; call the school at (978) 745-4549; or visit the school’s website at www.greenhouseschool.org