Eighth Graders Tackle Poverty & Homelessness: Produce Video to Draw Attention

Local 8th graders have created a video to help focus attention on poverty and homelessness in the State College area. The video is called “Two Feet of Love in Action.” The kids are students at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. The video was developed as part of a class service project. It examines the human impact from recent mobile home park closures.

The students, all members of a youth ministry group, spent the past six months learning about social justice, homelessness and poverty. Their research included presentations from Ruth Donahue, the executive director at Interfaith Human Services. Susannah Paul, development and community relations coordinator at Housing Transitions also shared her experiences with students.

The 8th graders took action; writing letters to people who were forced to move as a result of mobile home closures. They also held a bake sale, raising more than $300 for Housing Transitions.

But it’s the video the students created that’s grabbing attention. Teachers Tim Scharf and Jaimie Wright helped guide the students through the video production process.

Scharf says his students want as many people as possible to see their work. According to Scharf, the kids have gotten a strong response from the community. He says, “I think they spent a tremendous amount of time and effort on the video. We’re very proud of them.”

The class has submitted this video to the national Multi-Media Youth Contest sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Judging will take place later this year.

Watch the Video: Two Feet of Love in Action