High school kids helping needy from suburbs to Darfur
Already among the best and the brightest in a highly competitive suburban school, a small group of kids at William Fremd High School in Palatine has it all figured out. They network, build connections, craft strategic plans, build Web sites and use technology to leverage relationships, raise capital and get what they want.
But they aren't using those skills to win admissions to Ivy League schools, land prestigious internships, improve their personal portfolios or make their bright futures even brighter. They are using their networking abilities to shine the light on poverty and suffering -- from the suburbs to Darfur.
The spark came from churches: All Saints Lutheran Church in Palatine and Holy Family Catholic Community in Inverness.
"My dad and I started talking," says Kellie Kinsella, 17, a senior, whose parents, Kevin and Linda Kinsella, have been youth ministers at All Saints since before she and her younger brother, K.J., were born. They talked about poor people in the suburbs who were hungry.
"In a community like this, that shouldn't be," says Kellie Kinsella, who contacted the Palatine Township Food Pantry across from her high school to offer her help.
Pulling together kids from various clubs at school, other high schools and neighboring churches, Kellie organized YHOP (Youth Hunger Opposition in Palatine). T-shirt sales, a bake sale and donation appeals have brought in $10,000. She has a lofty goal of $100,000.
"They got off to a great start," gushes Norma Meehan, supervisor for the pantry, which provides food for 180 families each month.
"I don't have any doubt they can do it," Kevin Kinsella says. "I've never seen kids to passionate about something."
They are setting an example for their parents and other adults.
"You can learn a lot from the energy of youth," Kevin Kinsella says.
The energy from a presentation at Holy Family flows all the way to Darfur.
"We're so privileged being here, coming to Fremd," says Chelsea Insprucker, 17, who came out of a church program about Darfur, researched the problems of that troubled region of Sudan, and, with fellow senior Alexandra Karambelas, started Fremd's Dreams For Darfur club.
"We had over 80 people at the first meeting," says Insprucker.
Because the group doesn't meet the requirements for a school-sponsored club, and the organizers already have applied to colleges, this isn't a case of kids trying to pad a résumé, says Chris Piggott, a math teacher and baseball coach who volunteers to be the group's sponsor.
"It's not like they needed this. They just enjoy helping others," says Piggott, who notes that the Darfur club has drawn kids from all grades and backgrounds. "It's not just all their friends. It just shows you how many kids want to help out."
Under the direction of Insprucker, Karambelas and fellow officers Autumn Spensieri, Jordan Gorrell and Bridget Morton, all 17, the club raised $664 going door to door on a Sunday.
"It was during the Bears game, and one of the adults was so blown away that we were taking our time to help people we'd never meet," Insprucker says.
Teaming up with World Vision, the international humanitarian charity (www.worldvision.org) with strong suburban connections, the club has organized a benefit concert for Darfur at Spensieri's home next Friday.
Whether they are a small piece in a global puzzle or a huge player on the suburban scene, these students are using their abilities to help others. To make tax-deductible donations or find out more about these kids' projects, visit the Web sites www.yhop.org and dreamsfordarfur.googlepages.com.