Monument Student Biking 'Sea 2 Sea' for Haiti School

By Sarah Ward, juniorMonument Mountain High School
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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — This summer, an 11th grade Monument Mountain High School student plans on biking across the United States to raise awareness and much needed funds for building a new school in Jacquet, Haiti.

Peter Smith plans on leaving June 21 and bike from Seaside, Ore., to New York City, in all a 3,800 mile long journey.

After participating in Berkshire Hills Regional School District's "Give to Give" program, Peter decided to help the AVJ school.

AVJ is the Neighborhood Assembly of Jacquet, an area in Port-au-Prince. The free community school offers arts and sports programs, as well as food and health care, for about 125 children whose families cannot afford to pay for school.

Peter is working with Hot Futbol, a private nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to developing Haitian communities using organized soccer play.

"The future of Haiti faces many challenges and its hope lies in the education and welfare of its children," states Peter on his Hot Futbol page.

Through the joint effort of the school district and Hot Futbol, AVJ became a "sister school." This connection encompasses writing and Skyping between students, along with collecting supplies and donations for the school's operation.

One hundred percent of donations for Peter's ride will go toward AVJ. For donations and further information contact Elena Evans at eevanspie@gmail.com or to Hot Futbol.
Tags: bicycling,   biking,   fundraiser,   Haiti,   sister school,   

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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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