Milton Students Visit Cambodian School

Students from Milton mingle with students from the school they helped to build in Cambodia.

Dec 15, 2008
By Jim Hamill
WNEP-TV (Pennsylvania, USA)

Click here to watch the news video about Milton Students Visiting Cambodian School

High school students from central Pennsylvania are back from Cambodia. The teens saw first hand the school they helped build by raising thousands of dollars for the cause in Northumberland County.

In a little more than four months Milton's Team Cambodia raised more than $30,000. Every penny went to a struggling village in the poor Asian country, creating a place for hundreds of children to learn.

"We did it. It took us four and a half months and we made a huge impact on a small village," senior J.C. Reich said.

Reich and fellow senior Larissa Luu talked about their recent trip to Cambodia and their part in Team Cambodia's major accomplishment; the brand-new school.

"When we saw all the kids there it just made everything so much more worthwhile because they were so happy to just have this little school building," Luu said.

Reich, Luu and about 30 other students devoted practically everything to making the Cambodian school a reality. It was their teacher's idea but the students made it their mission.

Finally last week, a group from Milton went to Cambodia for the school's dedication.

It was, no doubt, a life-changing event for both students from Milton and that tiny village in Cambodia.

"For generations to come, hopefully that school will make a difference in lives of this very, very poor community," teacher Mike Conn said.

Team Cambodia raised thousands of dollars by selling hundreds of t-shirts and students said now that the school in Cambodia has been built, it could not have been done without a lot of support from the local community.

"Thirty-thousand dollars, it was a huge community project. It was a group effort had a large impact for the effort that went into it," Reich added.

Both Reich and Luu hope Team Cambodia's work goes far beyond the three-room school, teaching children in the war-torn country how to help others and, in turn, themselves.

"Walking through the children, they were clapping and applauding. It was basically a heroes' welcome and it was something that will be engrained in my mind forever," Luu added.

With all that money from Team Cambodia the school now has a well for fresh water. It also has solar panels to power computers and internet access so Mr. Conn said his students will be sure to email back and forth.

Team Cambodia tops $30,000 goal

Ryan Wolfe, center, gives a check to Michael Conn for Team Cambodia. Looking on is Tony Snyder, of the Milton Moose. (Photo: Wayne Laepple/The Daily Item)

Teachers, students, community raise money to build school

Milton Area Senior High School social studies teacher Michael Conn was ecstatic as he accepted a check for $335 from Ryan Wolfe.

May 15, 2008
By Wayne Laepple
The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pennsylvania, USA)

MILTON -- Milton Area Senior High School social studies teacher Michael Conn was ecstatic as he accepted a check for $335 from Ryan Wolfe.

That check, presented Tuesday night, brought total donations to Team Cambodia to $30,635, surpassing the $30,000 goal set for the fund drive in December. The money will be used to build and staff a school in Cambodia.

The fund actually went over the top on Friday, when a benefit concert was held in the high school auditorium, but the additional money is welcome nonetheless, Conn said.

The check Wolfe gave to Conn represents the proceeds from "Milton Idol," a contest held at the Jungle, the teen club at the Milton Moose Family Center.

"We raised these funds in four months and 26 days," Conn said. "There were a lot of people who were skeptical that we'd be able to raise this kind of money in Milton."

"I'm proud of the kids, and I'm proud of the community," he continued. "This project has had a galvanizing effect."

Conn said additional money that may come in will be used to offset the cost for several students to make the trip to Cambodia in December, when a delegation from Milton will go to Cambodia to help dedicate the school, which is under construction in a village near the Mekong River. The school will be called the Milton School.

The travel company, American Council for International Studies, has waived a number of fees and charges for students and will include all meals, Conn said. The group will travel to Vietnam and Cambodia for nine days, from Dec. 4-13.

Last summer, Conn visited Cambodia and was moved by the poverty and lack of education in that country. He learned of the Educate Cambodia project and found that many schools were built there with donations from other countries, but only one school had been built with money from the United States.

He decided to try to raise funds in Milton to build a school, and with help of students and teachers throughout the district and contributions from hundreds of people throughout the region, that goal has been met.

Students Work to Build School in Cambodia

Feb 7, 2008
By Norm Jones
WNEP TV station (Pennsylvania, USA)

Some students in Northumberland County are on a mission to build a brand new school all the way across the globe. The Milton High School students are asking for your help for Team Cambodia.

They are a group of motivated students trying to make a difference for underprivileged children.

"Just the little children that have gone through so much, and yet they're still pushing through every day. To see how easy we have it here, it's nice to help kids across the world," said Larissa Luu of Team Cambodia. She is president of the fundraiser.

For the past two months, she and her fellow classmates have been raising money to build a new school for Cambodian children, complete with books, desks, computers, even solar panels for electricity.

It was an idea sparked by their teacher, who recently visited the war-torn country.

"Improper diet, some of them suffer from malnutrition, poverty, unsafe water to drink, land mines. What chances do they have? If we can make their lives a little better it seems to me that it's the right thing to do," said teacher Mike Conn.

Out of the $30,000 needed the student have raised $10,000 by selling everything from lollypops and tee-shirts to holding bake sales and spaghetti dinners.

"Well we've been going around to all the clubs, Lions Club is donating $500, Kiwanis Club. We've just been giving presentations and we've been getting a lot of positive responses by going out and doing that," said Amy Brown of Team Cambodia.

The students are driven to succeed by the end of this school year. With only a few months left to go they hope people who see the faces of the needy children will open up their hearts and their wallets and give to a good cause.

"Everyone always wants to help out with something and make a contribution to something. This felt like a really good way to do something good for the world," said Sarah Sheaffer of Team Cambodia.

Donations can be made payable to Team Cambodia, Team Cambodia, Milton High School, 700 Mahoning Street, Milton PA, 17847.