Written by Alaina Wolf
A Walton scholar Harding student saw an opportunity to meet a need in his country back home and found a way to meet that need on campus through the incorporation of Smiles4Christ. More than a decade later, the new spring Smiles4Christ committee is implementing a new activity to help raise more money for one school in Honduras.
Junior Angie Gomez, the president of the committee, shared her excitement in the implementation of the new sale that took place on Valentine’s Day. Each semester, Smiles4Christ sells pupusas, and during the fall they have Latin Fest. The committee emphasized how they wanted to raise more money for the cause. A dessert called tres leches was the answer.
“All the money that we collect from the pupusas sales, from small sales, from the Valentine’s sales and from the Latin Fest goes towards Apanje, which is a school in Honduras for kids with disabilities,” Gomez said. “We are not doing this for us, but we are doing this for God and for the school ― for the kids in Honduras that really need our help.”
Gomez isn’t the only student from Honduras on the committee for the spring semester. Junior Gloria Zelaya, vice president for the committee, had the opportunity to visit the Apanje school during the summer. Zelaya emphasized how crucial these sales are that they put on each semester and why they feel the need to include a third to their annual schedule.
“Apanje doesn’t have any support from the government,” Zelaya said. “They exist just by donations. The teachers are volunteers. They don’t have a salary. So, this semester we are planning to do a third activity, and that is going to be tres leches.”
Zelaya encourages all of the student body to engage with Smiles4Christ, especially when they host one of their several on-campus activities.
“Smiles4Christ is so thankful for each one of you that decides to buy a pupusa, a passport for the Latin Fest or make a donation, because all of the money is an opportunity for the people in Honduras and for the Apanje school and all of the children,” Zelaya said. “They see that they are supported by somebody else — that they are not alone. They can feel that love.”
The spring secretary, junior Yesenia Callejas from El Salvador, explained how the new sale of the tres leches dessert during February is one of their biggest sales for the spring semester. She said the committee hopes to continue this sale along with the rest of their fundraising activities available to the entire student body and the surrounding community for years to come.
“I think the Smiles4Christ for me is a way to not only help kids, but also get to know people here at Harding,” Callejas said. “We are going to have fun activities this semester, so follow us on Instagram.”
