It's hard to imagine how many pairs of footwear this teacher has. One for the classroom. Another for raking mounds of wet leaves. Another for hiking the High Peaks, aka "Climbing for a Cause." Something to wear for building houses.
He tugs on boots and shoes for all kinds of projects that raise money and awareness to help his students change the neighborhood, the community, the world. It began when he started a group called Students for Humanity. Or, you could call them James' Gang, because this Hamburg teacher, James Gang , is at the helm.
A global studies teacher and member of the Hamburg Teachers Association, Gang reeled off a disordered list of things the Western New York student group has done to stockpile dollars. They've sold candy canes, cookies and apples ( 25 cents apiece); climbed mountains to fulfill monetary pledges; watched scary movies on Halloween; sang Christmas carols; settled refugees; and worked with Habitat for Humanity. They've cooked casseroles, held penny drives, raked "tons and tons of wet leaves" and collected school supplies.
For most people, that's a full bucket list.
For this Gang, it's just a question is getting more buckets.
What starts as a lesson at a desk ends up shifting from erudition to action.
"You just do what has to be done, because kids have to learn about it so they can know and understand from history and help address the social justice issues that are happening today," Gang said.
These students have examined the wrongs dredged from history that show their darkness in new forms. Profit-greedy corporations employ children and force employees to work long hours in unsafe conditions to produce new clothing.
The chocolate industry, where children are bought and sold to work the cocoa fields, has an ugly stamp: slavery. And human trafficking is another form modern day slavery, Gang said by way of pointed example.
Students for Humanity found a place close to home where they could help refugees fleeing persecution and human trafficking. They volunteered for refugee services, cleaning apartments and collecting household furnishings from donations. Working with Journey's End Refugee Service, they bought food from a local supermarket to make the new families welcome — such as Burmese food, something familiar from their native country.
"These are families granted refugee status because of persecution. Some have been in refugee camps for a decade or longer," said Gang, who has been joined in his work with Students for Humanity by teacher Chris Dudek, former advisor to the Peace Club.
In addition to troubles created by greed and war, there are natural disasters that leave people in need of help. Students for Humanity raised $5,000, then applied for and won a matching grant from Free the Children to build a small school in post-earthquake Haiti. Free the Children is an international charity and educational partner started by a 12-year-old to fight child labor.
In Western New York, people are quite familiar with the stings and lashes of winter weather. So it was a natural desire for this group to want to help shelter those exposed to the elements. Last year, Students for Humanity began fundraising for the refugee crisis in Syria. They already had connections with a young speaker, Jordan Hattar, who'd come to their club a few years prior and had since started the non-govermental organization Help4Refugees.
The Hamburg students rolled up their sleeves to raise money for a caravan, which is a large (10' by 12') shipping container with a door that locks and a window — in other words, a house. It is a house that would be meek in other circumstances, but compared to tents in the Syrian refugee camps, it is a fortress against wind, ice and flooding that the tents cannot stave off.
In a grateful missive to his fellow colleagues in the Hamburg TA — which supported many student fundraisers — Gang explained: "You can't lock a tent up and protect your family. Refugee camps are not the safest places on the planet …Tents also don't provide enough protection from the cold winters. Many people die during the winter from freezing, especially when the winter comes on the heels of major flooding."
Gang sent the note to his fellow union members in appreciation of their support for the footwork of the students, and the major differences they have made in the lives of others through thought and action. He said the TA, led by local President Amy Takacs, has been "actively involved in helping with social justice endeavors."
Thank you messages were also sent to students taking part in the Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies, where Gang teaches, for their fundraising efforts. Last year, students attending the institute worked with Hattar, who was in residence for the program.
Together, the groups were able to raise enough money for two caravans. They were just delivered November 3. The occupants: people who had been shot the day before fleeing Syria — a 14-year-old boy and his father; and, in the other caravan, a 22- and 23-year old. All of them young, wounded and vulnerable to elements and harm.
"To put someone in a house, you literally save their life," Gang said.
The pre-fab houses bear stickers that say: This caravan provided by Students for Humanity, Hamburg, NY.
When the students first learned about problems in Africa, Gang said, they all wanted to go to Africa. The speaker drew a bulls-eye target and told them to start with the small circle in the center.
The group started with projects like raking for military veterans.
"Students want to do good things," Gang said. "They really do … They need opportunity. As teachers, we have to provide that. And that won't be on the test."
- Liza Frenette