THE TRADESMAN
| Volume 9 No. 2 | -- A NEWSPAPER by and for DIMAN STUDENTS -- | January, 2006 |
A Shop and School United
By: Stephanie Pavao
Tradesman Managing Editor
It is when a tragedy occurs that charity shines through.
I took time to interview Mr. Bentley about two tragic fires that happened this school year.
On October 27, 2005, an early Thursday morning at 7:15 the house of Diman student, Joshua Bonanca was tragically burned down, resulting in total loss of the family's belongings. Joshua is a sophomore student in the auto body shop.
A main concern that morning was that Joshua and his sister were not present in the house caught fire. By 8:00 a.m. both schools confirmed Joshua and his sister safe at school. By 8:30 they received news that nothing could be salvaged from the remains of the house.
As soon as Diman heard about this tragedy the administration tried its best to contact school organizations such as the National Honor Society and the Key Club to create a fundraiser for Joshua. Also, Joshua's shop, auto body, contributed to help raise money for this cause. The fundraiser ran from October 28, 2005 through November 4, 2005. On the first day at the Cross Roads, Diman rose over $475. By the end of the week they raised a total of $2,000. This was more than anyone expected. It was an excellent outcome. On Wednesday, November 9, 2005 the family was presented with a check of $2,000.
Not only did Diman contribute to this family but the community also helped. The family's Deacon at the church they attend offered them an apartment which he owned. On Monday November 7, 2005 the family was living in their new apartment. In 2 weeks with the help of a caring community, this family is back on track to a normal life.
The other tragedy that I interviewed Mr. Bentley about was the fire that occurred at the Atlantis Charter School's library. All this happened due to a vandal who entered the library. The flames destroyed reading materials of children from grades kindergarten to the fourth grade. Along with the reading materials, computers were also destroyed.
Diman's National Honor Society and the Key Club started a book-drive to raise books for these children. The books were targeted to children between the ages of 5 and 10. Their intentions were to collect a box of books from each shop. They collected 16 boxes, one from each shop. The book-drive ended on November 10, 2005 and Diman gathered 800 books within two weeks.
When Atlantis Charter receives the books, they will know that Diman students are thinking of them in their time of need.
