Bishop Ireton Supports Sister School Louverture Cleary School In Haiti

(Thursday) March 4, 2010

Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, students at Bishop Ireton High School have spent the last month raising money and collecting shoes for Louverture Cleary School, BI’s sister school in Haiti.  To date, Ireton students have raised $28,323 that will go to the Haitian Project and the Louverture Cleary school community.  Half of the money came from tickets to the school’s Winter Ball; the remainder was collected from donations, $2 dress out days, cake walks, Drama Club benefit events, basketball game collections, and contributions from Blessed Sacrament School.

Over 500 students attended last weekend’s Winter Ball, donating $20 each at the door.  Plus many students chose to forgo spending money on new dresses, haircuts and fingernails, or save on coffee drinks or dining out so as to donate that savings at the Winter Ball collection basket.

In addition, Ireton students Sarah Rupp and Carrie Gillespie collected over 2,500 pairs of shoes for the Louverture Cleary school children and arranged shipment to Haiti last month.  Having seen first-hand when they traveled to Louverture Cleary School in November, the lack of shoes on the school playground, they rounded up enough shoes to supply the school children and people in the surrounding neighborhood!

“The outpouring of generosity after the earthquake has been truly wonderful.  Parents, students and teachers alike pulled together their prayers and resources to respond to this horrific event.  This is just another example of the terrific community that is Bishop Ireton” said Mary Kelly, director of Campus Ministry.

Bishop Ireton has been conducting mission trips to Louverture Cleary School for the last seven years as part of an ongoing outreach program. Louverture Cleary is a boarding school for students in grades 5- 12. They open their doors in the afternoon to the neighborhood children for lunch, tutoring, and playground time within the walls of the school.  Last Thanksgiving, a group traveled to Haiti to volunteer at Louverture Cleary School, flying into Port-au-Prince then traveling to the school about ten miles north. Many thanks to those who represented our school:  Elizabeth O’Connell (Haitian Project mission leader), Mrs. Mimi Marquet – Ireton Librarian, Catherine Vasquez (’10), Hannah Goldman (Ireton alum), Karoline Nunez (’10), Kevin Mondragon (’10), Sarah Rupp (’11), and Carrie Gillespie (’11).