By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Eighty Ann’s Choice residents who are alumni of Olney High School, in Philadelphia, recently came together for their annual reunion. What started as a chance to catch up and share good times and memories turned into a quest to help out the high school they hold so dear.

After learning that their old school’s library was in need of books and other educational resources, the alumni joined together to try to restock its shelves.

Turning the tide
Since 2006, the alumni started noticing some negative trends at Olney. Test scores were down and student behavior problems were up.

Reunion committee member Tom Feeney explains, “We are all proud of our alma mater. It was one of the best schools in the city. But we noticed that they were kind of going through a rough patch.

“Every school goes through ups and downs, but we wanted to do something to help show our appreciation for all the school gave us and see if we could help the administration turn the tide at the same time,” he says.

A call to action
The reunion coordinators asked Shelly Curran, the librarian at Olney High School, to speak to the alumni during the reunion about the condition of the library. Curran said it was in a state of disrepair, with many damaged and outdated books and many sections completely empty of books and educational materials. But the school is now making strides to improve the situation, and it  was the alumni’s mission to improve it for the students.

“As soon as we heard, we wanted to help out,” Jane Bennett, an Olney alumna and member of the reunion committee, says. “We were so charged up by her enthusiasm that we decided right then and there to see if we could do something.”

So after Curran’s talk, the Ann’s Choice Olney High School Alumni made a three-pronged commitment to help out. The alumni vowed to volunteer time, donate books, and raise funds to help rebuild the library.