ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Bradley Xaltipa, co-president of the Pencils of Promise Club at Lynn Classical High School, puts on a T-shirt with one of the two award-winning logos that was created by a Classical High student.
BY THOR JOURGENSEN
LYNN — Classical High School students have a surprise in store for Adam Braun today when he steps onto the school’s auditorium stage to talk about his bestselling book.
Bradley Xaltipa and 30 fellow Pencils of Promise Club members plan to present the author of “A Promise of a Pencil” with $2,000 the students raised to help pay for a new school in Guatemala.
Xaltipa, Tori McDonald and 1,600 fellow students read “Promise” last summer as part of their reading requirement. The book chronicles how Braun turned treks through some of the world’s poorest nations into a global campaign to build new schools.
McDonald said Braun’s message about changing the world one person at a time hit home.
“Everyone is inspired by what he is doing,” she said.
Veteran Classical English teacher Patty Frey worked with the students to help them launch their one life-changing initiative. The students thought up ideas for raising money to support their own charitable effort through T-shirt and pizza sales and a raffle to win a chance to aim a pie at a teacher’s face.
With more than 100 T-shirts sold and fellow students responding to the Pencils of Promise Club’s other money-raising efforts, the students raised more than $4,000.
“They’ve been working their tails off. Patty took this whole thing upon herself,” said Classical Principal Gene Constantino.
His book’s popularity among Classical students and the club’s efforts to build on his message prompted Braun, said Constantino, to speak at the school today and meet with students. Senior Jennifer Duran said she is impressed by Braun’s decision to shun being a tourist in favor of becoming an explorer.
“I like how he was very versatile and open minded. We all want to feel like we are part of something bigger,” Duran said.
Cody Sutherland said the chance to design one of the club’s T-shirts for his fellow students to sell helped him build on a longtime interest in helping others. The message behind his design is “a pencil can take you a long way.”
“I like helping people,” he said.
Xaltipa said the club’s membership has grown with students with meetings held regularly. Frey said Braun helped Classical students find “a great way to give back.”
“This really strikes at the heart of humanity,” she said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].