Two Teens decide "there has to be more to service than babysitting and helping with laundry."
Faustina Richardson made a statement at the annual St. Elizabeth of Hungary Silent Auction and Fiesta in May.
Along with her friend and former St. Elizabeth classmate, Elizabeth Stratton, the two girls volunteered at their alma mater’s (class of ’15) annual fund raiser to tell the crowd of 200 what the school had meant to them.
“You may have heard it takes a village to raise a child,” the two, speaking from the stage area, said. “St. E’s is the village where you want your child raised. St. Elizabeth’s is a school that teaches diversity, acceptance of others, discovering one's hidden talents and is always positively pushing you harder. The motto, ‘Challenging kids to be their best,’ prepared us not only to be successful students, but also young leaders in society.”
The two girls explained that doing service hours in 8th grade lead them to realize that “there has to be more than babysitting and helping with laundry.”
The two brainstormed and came up with a new concept: Got3, for “Giver of Time, Talent and Treasures.” Just as they began their non-profit, Faustina lost a close friend, Joshua, to childhood Cancer. She met him while attending Camp Esperanza, a summer camp for kids diagnosed with cancer, and was there at his bedside when he passed away.
Elizabeth saw Faustina’s struggle with “survivor guilt” and together the girls decided to continue their mission of doing quality community service, and providing meaningful volunteer opportunities for their friends, while helping to raise funds for childhood cancer research. The girls felt, “Just as every child needs a village in which to be raised, no child should die from Cancer.”
Their principal, Rachel Dzurilla, continued to support the girls’ efforts through this time, even after they graduated from St. Elizabeth's. Together the girls worked to raise funds and in December of 2016, GOT3 donated $4,000 to Children’s Health, where the money was used to assist in the development of a database to track late effects of childhood cancer to develop future therapies.
The girls got permission from Principal Dzurilla to come to the school's annual 2017 Fiesta Fund Raiser in May. They stood up and presented two baskets to the audience to bid on, explaining the funds would be going to GOT3 to continue in the St. Elizabeth graduates’ efforts to change the world for the better.
Parent Andy Goza was the live auctioneer for the Fiesta, and he and his co-chairs, wife Susan and St. Elizabeth’s parent, Melissa Maldanado, previously agreed with Principal Dzurilla to allow the two girls to use the venue to raise money for Childhood Cancer rather than the school.
The girls had a basket for the ladies in the audience, filled with Mary Kay certificate, a free hair cut from Aveda’s, a bottle of wine and a wine tasting event for 20 people.
The second basket, “Wild Hogs and Baseball,” was targeting the men in the audience, which included a hog hunt for two, an overnight stay in a local lodge, four Ranger tickets, a Dick’s Sporting Goods get card and a bottle of an “adult beverage.”
Each basket raised hundreds of dollars the girls will donate to help find a cure for children’s cancer.
To learn more about the girls’ efforts to help cure childhood cancer visit www.got3service.com as the next campaign, entitled SCHOOL, is currently seeking schools to participate.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church and School is located at 4019 South Hampton Road, Dallas, TX 75224 next door to the Walgreens on the corner of Loop 12 Ledbetter and Hampton. The school offers grades pre-k 3 through 8th grade. For more information see the school’s website: http://saintspride.com/
The public is invited to come tour the school and meet the exceptional faculty and staff. For more information contact Sandy Walkley swalkley@saintspride.com
(214) 331-5139 x21 or Carolyn Campos, Business Manager, ccampos@saintspride.com (214) 331-5139 x23.
Judy Porter is a Dallas writer who writes about local heroes, small businesses, schools and non-profits. Contact her at judy-porter@sbcglobal.net or on Twitter: @judyeporter