Teacher Stephanie Armstrong shared in class about her family’s tradition of participating in the White Envelope Project, where each family member looks for ways to practice random acts of kindness during the year, often serving people and organizations that don’t receive attention or accolades. The act of kindness stays a secret until Christmas morning when family members share their experience, which they write on a piece of paper, place in a plain white envelope, and slip between the branches of the Christmas tree. Opening the white envelopes becomes the finale of the gift-giving time.
Armstrong invited her class to help brainstorm ideas for her family’s White Envelope Project this year, and the spirit of generosity quickly spread throughout the class. “We want to be part of the White Envelope Project, too,” the students said.
So, Armstrong led the class in a brainstorming session. “We talked about professions that are often underappreciated, and one of them was construction workers. We decided that we were going to bless our construction workers and have a breakfast for them.” Since temperatures had dipped into the 20s and 30s for several days, the students wanted to make sure that the construction crew had plenty of hot chocolate to warm them up at the breakfast.
After getting administrative approval, Armstrong had the class sign up to bring food. To fill the gaps in the menu, she called on a friend who works in marketing for a donut company, which generously helped with hot chocolate and donuts not only for the construction workers’ breakfast but also for the rest of NRCA’s faculty and staff.
The Photojournalism class hosted the thank-you feast for the construction crew on Friday, Dec. 13. It featured “orange juice, hot chocolate, and lots of donuts, cookies, and breakfast treats,” Armstrong said.
The experience helped students flourish in compassion and service. “The students were just really happy to help. During this season of giving, they just wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They wanted to celebrate the people who are working hard through the cold to finish building the new classrooms,” Armstrong shared.
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