Eighth-Graders Raise Thousands For Two Churches Hit By Arson

A group of eighth-graders wanted to do more than just talk about the world’s problems.

So they formed Corvallis Youth Against Church Burning, and became fund-raisers.

They held the proverbial car washes and put a few donation cans in stores.

But they also tapped adults for help and money, from Corvallis Mayor Helen Berg to Oregon State University football coach Jerry Pettibone to the vice president of Levi Strauss and Co.

The kids’ efforts also inspired Levi Strauss to chip in $1,000 and vice president John Ermatinger to donate $1,000 of his own.

In all, the students’ hard work meant $3,500 for the Immanuel Christian Fellowship in Portland and the New Light House of Prayer in Greenville, Texas, to share. Both churches were torched by arsonists.

That includes a $100 pledge from the Corvallis chapter of the NAACP.

It was a class entitled Critical Issues that sparked the youngsters’ interest.

Teacher Rosemarie O’Neil and criminal justice advocate Larry Baker helped about 15 students put their motivation into action over the summer.

“We learned a bunch of leadership skills,” said Ryan McCann, 14, now a Crescent Valley High School freshman and one of three student leaders of Corvallis Youth Against Church Burning.

He delivered a $700 check to the Portland church on Sept. 29. And on Oct. 18, he presented the same amount to leaders of the Texas church. Levi Strauss hosted the meeting at its corporate headquarters in San Francisco, and McCann got a chance to meet the company’s president and other officials.

O’Neil hopes to continue integrating community service into the curriculum, and has applied for a grant to help her do that.

“Kids do not really think they can make a difference,” she said. “But once they do, they’re so captivated they give 200 percent.”