Middle school teacher participates in Jimmy Carter Work Project

by Lawerence W. Synett

Jackson Middle School art teacher Tara Challenger recently had the opportunity to participate in the Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP) for Habitat for Humanity in Los Angeles, Calif., from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2.

The annual event brings former President Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, together with volunteers from across the world to give a week of their time to build homes and raise awareness of the critical need for affordable housing.

"I was so excited when I was accepted in July," said Challenger, who has worked at Jackson for nine years. "I felt it necessary to become a part of it because Habitat for Humanity is such a special cause."

The weeklong "build," which takes place in a different location each year, brought together thousands of volunteers from all over the world to sites in South Central Los Angeles and San Pedro, Calif.

Carter and his wife have hosted the event since 1984.

According to Challenger, Carter's past history of raising awareness about humanitarian causes prompted her to want to be a part of the project.

"President Carter is a very special person and he has done so much good to raise people's awareness about humanitarian causes," said Challenger. "I wanted to have a chance to be a part of that experience."

After finding out she was accepted to participate as a volunteer in this year's JCWP, Challenger decided she wanted to find ways to educate her Jackson students of what it means to volunteer and be a good citizen.

" I believe Habitat's mission to end poverty housing," said Challenger. "I wanted to expose my students to something positive and wanted them to be a part of my experience."

Challenger decided to involve her students by allowing them to help create a mural, which she presented to Carter and his wife at the conclusion of the project.

Part of the project, called "A Brush With Kindness," involved Challenger and other volunteers going into neighborhoods to help with rehabilitation of homes for people including the elderly and disabled.

According to Challenger, the theme's name was "perfect for an art teacher," and over a dozen interested and dedicated students worked throughout the month of October to complete the mural before she left for California.

"They did a fantastic job and the most challenging aspect was combining all of the students ideas to make a cohesive design," added Challenger.

Being able to present Carter and his wife with the mural, stated Challenger, worked out better than she could have expected.

According to Challenger, it just so happened, that a coworker had a friend who attended Amy Carter's wedding because she was friends with the groom.

Amy Carter is the daughter of former President Carter.

Challenger then proceeded to send an email to her coworkers friend that was tracked all the way back to Carter and then back to Challenger.

She then took the email to the project and through a series of "amazing connections," she met the photographers that were working directly with the Carters over dinner one night.

"The next thing I knew I was talking to Mrs. Carter over breakfast the next morning and by Thursday I was getting things set up for the mural presentation," said Challenger.

When Challenger returned to Villa Park, she stated that she taught a lesson to her students about getting involved in things that are important to them.

"It doesn't have to be Habitat for Humanity, but my wish is that they all one day could experience how wonderful it is to help others," said Challenger, who presented gift bags that included a framed photo of the mural and the Carters to the students who helped create the mural .