Sea Pines Montessori Academy (SPMA) will be participating in the Project Haiti Children’s Backpacks program by volunteering to fill 30 backpacks with much needed personal, hygiene and school items for children of the Light and Peace Mission, an orphanage and school, in Bon Repos, Haiti (about 20 miles from Port-au-Prince).

The project, led by Hilton Head Island sisters Diane Fornari and Donne Paine, aims to prepare 200 filled backpacks by March 1st for the orphanage’s 28 children who will soon be joined by 150+ new orphans being relocated from Port-au-Prince.

Service learning is an integral part of an authentic Montessori education. Classrooms will sponsor backpacks for girls and boys between 3 and 10 years old. Teachers will share age-appropriate information about the needs of the young earthquake survivors with their students. With their families the children will then select donated items to bring to school for filling the backpacks. Photos and notes from the classroom and families will personalize the donations.

Parents, please look for further information from the Room Mother of your child’s classroom to arrive soon.