Students from Benton Harbor Charter Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Students at Benton Harbor Charter School are celebrating their Hispanic heritage. Recently, the Benton Spirit showcased the writing talents of these students as they proudly shared their thoughts on what it means to them to be Hispanic.

A seventh grade girl writes:

"I like my heritage because when a girl turns 15, she gets a quinsenera celebration. At this celebration, they have Mexican decorations such as table decorations, balloons, and streamers. Also at this celebration, they have a traditional shoe ceremony where the father of the young lady takes off her flat-heeled shoes, and her mother exchanges those for high-heeled shoes."

A fifth grade boy states:

"What I do for H i s p a n i c Celebration Month is eat different kinds of food than we usually
eat that my mom cooks, like tacos, corn, tamales, and cake. Sometimes we invite over our family for dinner. We also have cookouts and parties."

For more of these colorful essays (including their Spanish version) see:

bentonspiritnews.com/clients/bentonspiritnews/HIspanicHeritage2010.pdf

Niles Area Crop Walk Has Raised Over $250,000 in Its 30 Year History

People are gearing up for the Four Flags Area CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Walk Sunday at 3 p.m.

The walk will begin and end at Grace United Methodist Church in Niles. Organized locally, the CROP Walk has set a goal of increasing the number of walkers to to 125 to stop hunger in the community and around the world though self-help development initiatives.

A portion of the funds will got to St. Mary’s Christian Service Center and the Salvation Army in Niles and Redbud Area Ministries in Buchanan. Last year 104 walkers raised $13,725 with $3,431 distributed locally. Over the past 30 years, the walk has raised $257,527 with $64,381 helping those in need locally.

www.nilesstar.com/2010/09/24/walking-for-poverty/