Cayla Beaulieu ‘20:
Plaid kilts worn by Episcopal Academy students two years ago will soon be worn by students halfway around the world in Syria, where those in need will receive and continue using these donations. Allison Lee ‘19 has taken the initiative to collect kilts and donate them to the Norristown-based Narenj Tree Foundation. According to their website, the Narenj Tree Foundations is “a non-profit organization, founded in November of 2013” with the intention of aiding Syrian refugees who are in need of clothes, food, and medical assistance. Their main goal is to “rebuild Syria with donations in form of time, money and food to create a better world.”
Lee became involved with the organization when a friend of hers at Sacred Heart “did this at her old school, and collected retired kilts and sent them to Africa.” Immediately inspired, Lee told her mother and organized a donation with Rebecca Brinks, the Community Outreach Coordinator at Episcopal, who said that this is the “third year that we have been donating to them.” She continued that “for me it’s a place, and a mission, that’s certainly very important… to send uniforms and excess things from our school and ship it to [Syria]. So much of the job that I do here has to do with matching needs and and kind of the resources that our community has, whether it’s time, supplies, clothes, or food, to those in need.”
Lee sees the Narenj Tree Foundation as a “foundation that has connections to overseas organizations, including ones in Syria, and collects donated clothes to send to these organizations.” By organizing the donation, she feels as if she is making a personal effort to live in peace with all people, the chapel theme of this school year. Lee also expressed that she “believes that the Academy has allowed [her] to pursue interests in community service by offering a variety of opportunities.” Participating in Horizons also, where she tutors young children, she “is taking what the Episcopal Academy has taught her, whether it be in math or English, and passing it on throughout the world.” Allison believes that community service “gives you a greater purpose and just switches up your everyday routine and gives you something more personal and rewarding to work on.”
Lee’s friend, Mollie Bonner ‘19, is extremely grateful that she has a friend who “is amazing because she always finds ways to help in anyway she can” and Brooke Kraftson ‘19 feels lucky to have a friend who “cares about people and is always willing to do what it takes to make the world a better place.” Alex Towers ‘20 feels “glad to be part of a community where students take the initiative to start something because they believe it is right.”
Lee is just one of many students at the Episcopal Academy who have devoted their time to community service. She believes that her desire to “better our community and our world” is a reflection of how the Episcopal Academy has influenced her and many others in the past, and one that will hopefully continue within the future. According to Lee, “taking resources that we have and spreading them out to other people and connecting with people you don’t know” are all ways that Episcopal gives its students opportunities to improve the surrounding community and the world.