Pennington to participate in school-building mission

School Superintendent Dr. David Pennington will participate in a Lifetouch Memory Mission to build a school in the Dominican Republic Jan. 26 – Feb. 3.

The school will be built for the children and families in a small, mountainous farming community.

Lifetouch, the leading national provider of school and family photography, organized this trip and invited school administrators, principals, educators and PTA members throughout North America to work alongside Lifetouch volunteers and Dominican nationals to build the school .

This is the fourth Memory Mission to Constanza. In 2011 and 2012, volunteers built an elementary school. That school now serves hundreds of children who otherwise would not have had a chance to receive an education.

In 2014, volunteers began work on a vocational school for the community. This month, about 50 volunteers will complete the school. Children will soon have a place to continue their education, offering greater opportunities for careers as adults.

Memory Mission volunteers will work on a variety of projects, including block and concrete work, stucco and paint finishing for the classrooms. Participants will also have an opportunity to visit community members, interact with teachers and students in the classroom and participate in a day of photography for the children in this village, many of whom have never seen a photo of themselves .

During the week-long trip, Memory Mission participants will hold two-way conversations with their home schools or offices using Google Hangouts. In addition to hearing their personal experiences, viewers will be able to see the surroundings and construction site.

Since the inception of the Lifetouch Memory Mission in 2000, Lifetouch hands have helped rebuild a village in war-ravaged Kosovo, repair homes in Appalachia, establish a children’s center in Jamaica, and construct a bridge in the land of the Navajo in Arizona.

They have built 12 schools across Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Memory Mission volunteers have also provided on-site assistance to victims of natural disasters throughout the United States, including Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, floods in the Dakotas, fires in California, and tornadoes across the Midwest.

Learn more about the upcoming Memory Mission at lifetouchmemorymission.com.