Bermuda High School for Girls is focused on giving back and instilling in students the core values of compassion, co-operation and community-mindedness.

Over the course of the year, BHS contributes to many local non-profits through fundraising events. However, there are times when exceptionalcircumstances require further action.

The damage that occurred due to hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria was devastating and heartbreaking, and led to many conversations on how the school could help.

BHS embarked on a school-wide effort to raise funds to provide hurricane relief, particularly to our neighbours in the Caribbean, via ShelterBox (shelterbox.org), a charity which provides practical kits to help families rebuild and repair their homes after natural disasters.

Over the past few weeks, students in the Early Years Programme to those studying the second year of the International Baccalaureate were asked to complete tasks and chores in their home or neighbourhood, and to be paid for their labour.

Students brought those funds to school on Monday to contribute to the collection, which will be sent to ShelterBox so that more families devastated by the recent hurricanes have the essentials needed to begin rebuilding their lives.

Students held bake sales, babysat, made one-of-a-kind bowls and cards, folded laundry, washed cars, sold lemonade, fed dogs, cleaned rooms and much more.

Overall, more than $2,500 was raised, with money still coming in.

This was a meaningful experience for the students as they gained perspective on the value of money and experienced the power of solidarity in contributing to a common cause to help those in desperate need.

Our fundraiser – Grace McFadden, Y7

As many are aware, Texas has gone through a rough time in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, with many homes and other buildings destroyed.

Service to others is an important part of our BHS education, so the Year 7 students adopted a teacher, Mrs Ray, and decided to raise money to help her buy new supplies to get her classroom back together.

Her school, Kingwood High School in Houston, was destroyed and Mrs Ray lost not only her classroom, but also her home, as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

She needs a lot of items to recreate her classroom (from storage containers to basic school supplies).

Our first fundraiser was a bake sale last week, and we raised more than $400. The second fundraiser was to sell clay hands that we sold at the Year 7 Parent Evening. We made more than $550

As a student, the experience of knowing we were helping someone else felt awesome.

Together, we raised more than $900 for Mrs Ray and her school, and we sent her Amazon gift cards so she can buy the supplies she needs.

We would like to thank our Head of Year 7, Mrs Wheddon, for all her help with these fundraisers and everyone who supported us.