Schools

Walmart Donates $5K to Rockwood Schools' Senior Trip

Student volunteers will assist with New Orleans' Habitat for Humanity and New Orleans' Outreach projects this coming spring break. Due to budget cuts within Rockwood School District, the group now has to raise its own funds for the first time.

Walmart representatives presented a check for $5,000 on Tuesday to support a volunteer service trip scheduled for senior students from Lafayette, Marquette, Rockwood Summit and Eureka High Schools for March 15-22. The donation was presented to Timothy Jones, assistant principal of the 12th Grade at Lafayette High School, by Glenda Fleming Willis, regional general manager for Walmart.

Jones said this is the seventh year in a row that students from Rockwood School District high schools will travel to New Orleans to perform service work. “The trip started in 2005 in response to Hurricane Katrina, and it is a wonderful way to teach students the importance of community service and helping others who are less fortunate.”

Nearly 100 students, staff and community volunteers will travel by bus to New Orleans and work in that city, as well as in Slidell and Bay St. Louis, which recently was hit by Hurricane Isaac. 

Find out what's happening in Eureka-Wildwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Volunteers will work with Habitat for Humanity, as well as perform maintenance for New Orleans Outreach, which operates charter schools that lack their own maintenance departments. 

Students will stay at Fountainbleu State Park in the St. Tammany Parish, LA, to keep costs at a minimum, said organizers. Food for the volunteers will be purchased at Walmart stores in nearby Mandeville and Covington, LA.

Find out what's happening in Eureka-Wildwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For the first four years, the Rockwood School District underwrote the costs for the senior service trip. However, due to budget cuts, the group now has to raise its own funds, with parents, students and the community participating. Total trip costs, including transportation, food and lodging, are approximately $24,000.

To donate to the cause, contact Jones at jonestimothy@rockwood.k12.mo.us or call 636-733-4100.

“Walmart is proud to support Rockwood School District’s student volunteers,” said Darren Carithers, market manager for Walmart. “This is a great example of students doing something worthwhile for communities in need, as well as learning more about the world around them.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Eureka-Wildwood