Alvey’s Sunrays giving shines on the community

Students at Alvey Elementary School are learning academics but also how to connect with the world outside of theirs. “Remember Yesterday, Build Tomorrow” is Alvey’s theme; its students, staff and parents participate in it.

Every year since the school opened, the Alvey Sunrays have helped people locally, nationally or internationally. Their fundraisers have assisted the people affected by the events happening around them and in the world, including the tsunami of 2004, Hurricane Katrina victims, local first responders and nonprofit Transitional Housing Barn.

Candy Rotruck, Alvey principal, explained why the school is so successful in helping others. “It is all the kids. When they heard about the tsunami, many of them wondered how they could help. The key to the success of each fundraiser has been attaching meaning to events to the children. Their theme for the tsunami Fundraiser was, ‘Alvey Sunrays will dry the tsunami waters,’” Rotruck said.

Each event has a kick-off assembly run by the students through skits, slides or stories. The students are totally involved. After Hurricane Katrina, the Sunrays came up with the idea of helping members of a family after they lost everything by giving them a car so they could go on with their lives.

Read the full story on page 31 of the Nov. 11, 2011 print edition of the Bull Run Observer.