Kids Make a Difference In the Leupp Area

By S.J. Wilson
The Observer

Grandmother Elsie Phelps could not mask her surprise as a group of children marched into her living room bearing a tray of baked goods. After introducing themselves, the kids – students and members of the Student Council of the STAR School – took on several chores around the sheep camp. This was their first stop on Make a Difference Day.
Make a Difference Day, a project sponsored by USA Weekend in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation, connects young people and their communities across the nation. Make a Difference Day was November 23.
Louva Montour learned about the Make a Difference Day from the USA Weekend Magazine, an insert from a Phoenix newspaper. Montour had recently volunteered to serve as advisor to the STAR School Student Council, and recognized a worthy project that her students might enjoy.
STAR School is a small multi-cultural charter school just off the Navajo reservation between Flagstaff and Leupp. Most of the students are Navajo, but on the Flagstaff side of the border, non-Indians make up a part of this unique area.
Montour realized that time was short, with only a week before the event. “We just kind of jumped on it,” she said. “I met with the Student Council and I asked them if they would like to do a volunteer project.”
The kids were enthusiastic to participate, and explored several ideas, such as picking up trash, or doing a food drive. But as the discussion progressed, these ideas were shot down. They recognized that there were a lot of people picking up trash, such as on Earth Day, and also with such little time, it would be hard to form an effective food drive.
Then the children settled on a project involving community elders, many of whom live in isolation in the vast open areas of Northern Arizona.

“We wanted to do something unique, so we decided to make home-baked goods and distribute them to the elderly in the community. At the same time, we decided to perform chores around the households,” Montour said.
Elizabeth Sorg, President of the Student Council said that she had fun helping other people out.
“It felt nice just to be able to help them. I know they appreciated it – you could see it in their facial expressions,” Sorg said.
A non-Indian, she admitted that at first she was a little nervous about being on the reservation with people who could not speak English. But as the day progressed, that nervousnous disappeared.
“I would do it again, gladly. I wish we would have made more baked goods so that we could have helped more people,” she added.
Montour said that this sentiment was the consensus of the students.
“They all said they wished we had more food so we could have gone on to another house.”
Stephanie Wheeler, Vice President of the Council, enjoyed chopping wood, and playing with cats and dogs.
“We swept a lot of floors,” Wheeler said, shyly.
Like most of the students, chopping and carrying wood was her favorite chore. The mountain peaks in the distance held the promise of rain, and bringing in wood was one of the most popular chores for young and old alike.
One older man, a widower who lives by himself, was ready to leave on an errand when the school van arrived. He accepted the baked goods, which spurred an invitation into his home.
“Everything was spotless,” Montour said. “There was nothing for us to do there, but he was nice enough to invite us in for a visit. Even outside help was refused, but it was clear he enjoyed the visit.”
At one home, Radmilla Cody, former Miss Navajo Nation, had stopped in to visit her grandmother, Dorothy. Cody thanked the students for visiting her grandmother and offering to help with chores.
Kee John Wilson, though not a member of the Student Council, was enlisted to help out. When he first heard that he was heading out to do chores for people, he was a bit annoyed. But upon arriving at the first camp, he was caught up in the spirit of helping out, and helped chop and carry wood.
At the second home, Wilson carried hay to a grandmother’s sheep, and stopped in amazement at the sight of a Churro ram. He was astonished to see that the large fellow sported four horns – common for his breed.
“I also enjoyed seeing all of the cats,” Wilson said.
At one camp, Wilson abandoned the group to climb the rock formations surrounding an elderly woman’s home. Below him, many of the kids really got into chopping wood. Their cheers echoed across the canyon.
Inside, the older woman smiled from her chair as Jones swept her floor, and Montour carried in drinking water. She was clearly pleased.
“Some of them have never had anyone come to their house to help out with chores and bring them food. One woman even asked me, ‘Is this free?’ I think they enjoyed the special trip, of having someone pull up right to their door and offer to help,” Montour added.
Chalmer Gambler, a quiet young man, serves as the secretary of the group.
“I felt that helping the seniors was important.”
Gambler described the event as fun, saying he enjoyed spending more time with his classmates on a Saturday.
Staci Jones, class representative for grades 3-4, described the day’s activities.
“We helped the older people that needed help with the chores and gave them baked goodies. I enjoyed writing the notes, feeding the animals, and helped them clean their houses.”
The students swept and mopped floors and washed the windows at one home.
“I voted for helping the elderly because they really need the help.”
Jones said that she would like to see the entire school involved next year so that they could make a difference for more people.
Each participant project will be judged, and eligible for a cash prize. Though that interested the kids, it certainly wasn’t the determining factor.
“I told the students that they may or may not win a prize, but if they don’t they can still feel good about what they’ve done. I don’t think they were worried about it – they never said, ‘Wow! We’re going to win some money!’ They basically enjoyed the day,” Montour said.
“We won’t know if we won until late February, but even if they don’t take a prize, the kids still came out to be winners.
“Some of the elders were very tickled to get the attention. They were very thankful to see a group of kids bringing them some treats and offering to do some chores,” Montour said.

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