Centennial Middle School students give hope through hundreds of Hope Kits

When the Centennial Middle School (Portland, Oregon) students visited the exhibit in 2008, they were deeply moved by the experience. “The REAL. LIFE. Exhibit changed the way I think about tragedies. I know there is hope and love in the world. Medical Teams International changed my life,” one student said.

Another wrote, “All we can count on is hope.”

Hope. That’s what the students wanted to offer when they organized a drive to collect items to assemble into Hope Kits [PDF]. Hope Kits include basic items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, washcloths, soap, notebooks, pencils—items that would have value to people living in difficult situations.

In 2008, the Centennial students delivered 160 Hope Kits to Medical Teams International, who uses them to bring hope to children in orphanages and placement centers, children in the dump, families in disasters, children in refugee camps, as well as children who need hope here in our own area.

The next year the students returned to the exhibit and had another Hope Kit drive, this time delivering 365 kits. This year the school is sponsoring another Hope Kit drive and hopes to create 400 kits.

These kits will bring hope to hundreds of children. 

John Tidswell, the teacher who arranges for the students to visit the exhibit, says he wants the students to experience the joy of “giving of oneself” for others.

These students are doubly blessed. First, their compassion and generosity bring hope to children in need. Second, the students feel the joy of giving. One student wrote, “The field trip was phenomenal. It makes a huge difference to donate. Little things like that make a big difference to those kids. This field trip was a real eye-opener for me and my friends.”

Learn how your group can assemble Hope Kits [PDF] too.