Patsy Sullivan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central Africa, a place where poverty is the norm. When she took her job at Jefferson Elementary, Sullivan thought she was fully prepared to work with underprivileged children. But she had no idea what the face of poverty looked like until she looked it in the eye.



Patsy Sullivan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central Africa, a place where poverty is the norm. When she took her job at Jefferson Elementary, Sullivan thought she was fully prepared to work with underprivileged children. But she had no idea what the face of poverty looked like until she looked it in the eye.

Woman’s e-mail sparks spirit of giving

BY KATE WARD Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2004

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What started out as a simple e-mail asking for donations quickly evolved into a domino effect of compassion and generosity.

Patsy Sullivan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central Africa, a place where poverty is the norm. When she took her job at Jefferson Elementary, Sullivan thought she was fully prepared to work with underprivileged children. But she had no idea what the face of poverty looked like until she looked it in the eye.

Sullivan works with students who are less fortunate than most, some of them living in shelters or weekly rentals, shuttling from house to house. "Some of these children grew up in meth environments," Sullivan said. "We are talking about a 90 percent poverty rate."

About a week ago, Tonya Childress, a social worker at Jefferson Elementary, informed Sullivan that Christmas is around the corner and no agency or group had adopted the Jefferson school children for the holidays.

One afternoon, Sullivan was home, sick, and decided to e-mail several of her friends. She pleaded for people to open their hearts in the spirit of the holidays. Sullivan even asked that people donate their McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, to be used as stocking stuffers. She had no clue how powerful one email could be. "My phone has been ringing off the hook," Sullivan said. "We have had donations from businesses, groups, individuals and some people I don’t even know."

Sullivan said people have been knocking on her door and giving her money. She said several thousand dollars have been donated, as well as food, clothing and toys. "I should have sent out a letter asking to end world hunger!" Sullivan joked.

Not only have the needs of Jefferson Elementary students been met, she said, but all the needy students in the district. "Volunteers have been working like elves, unloading and grouping toys," she said.

Childress has been with the school for eight years and said she has never seen a response like this before. At least 200 needy children will be helped this Christmas, she said. "We are truly blessed," Childress said. "We’ve been telling people that if we have a surplus in monetary donations, we will use the money to buy things for the kids throughout the year such as food, clothing and medicine."

In addition, Childress said, Laura Underwood, school board member, has a son who plays on a soccer team that sponsors a community service program. They agreed to sponsor 40 children from Jefferson Elementary. On Saturday, each child will be matched up with a soccer player to participate in arts and crafts. "They are going to have a lot of fun," Childress said. "They will eat lunch together and receive a gift package."

Childress, along with numerous other volunteers, unloaded truckloads of food and donations Friday in the Bates Annex, located behind Fayetteville High School. Anyone who wants to volunteer, she said, can show up on Monday and Wednesday, during the afternoon and evening (especially from 5 to 7 p.m.), and again during the day on Tuesday. "This truly is a Christmas miracle," Sullivan said.

When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

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December 10, 2004: This Week's Top Stories Dodd says Rumsfeld's answer was unacceptable 9 Dec RPCV Blake Willeford runs classic movie theatre 9 Dec RPCV says education is key to curbing AIDS 9 Dec RPCV Dannielle Tegeder opens exhibition 9 Dec Shalala 1st Woman In Touchdown Club 9 Dec "Today we have a new country" says Toledo 9 Dec DDN wins Investigative Reporting Award 8 Dec Celeste on Panel to study Colorado finances 8 Dec RPCV leads Rotary Club medical team to Togo 6 Dec Vasquez to speak at Hawaii, Wisconsin commencements 6 Dec Tom Murphy warns Pittsburgh on budget abyss 2 Dec Venezuela RPCV Martha Egan runs Pachamama imports 30 Nov more top stories...

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RPCV safe after Terrorist Attack RPCV Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the U.S. consul general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia survived Monday's attack on the consulate without injury. Five consular employees and four others were killed. Abercrombie-Winstanley, the first woman to hold the position, has been an outspoken advocate of rights for Arab women and has met with Saudi reformers despite efforts by Saudi leaders to block the discussions.

Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes Take our new poll. NPCA members begin voting this week on bylaw changes to streamline NPCA's Board of Directors. NPCA Chair Ken Hill, the President's Forum and other RPCVs endorse the changes. Mail in your ballot or vote online (after Dec 1), then see on how RPCVs are voting.

Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here.

Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

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