This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.

For the last three years the upper school’s Junior Classical League has sponsored a Sadie Hawkins dance as a fundraiser for charity. The proceeds this year totaled $700 and were given to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), an organization that responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives.

The IRC was founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein. It offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster in more than 40 countries. The purpose of the Junior Classical League is to encourage an interest in and an appreciation of the language, literature and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.

“[Fellow Latin teacher] Scott Paterson and I have always chaperoned the Sadies dance and other teachers have graciously donated their time for the event,” reported John Hawley, upper school Latin teacher.

In a thank you letter to Hawley, David Miliband, president of the IRC, stressed his gratitude for Harker’s gift, which will help his organization further its ongoing mission of aiding people on their journeys “from harm to home.”

He also wrote that the students’ gift enabled his organization to deliver emergency health care, clean water, counseling, safe spaces for children and other aid to families caught in crisis in the Middle East, South Sudan and elsewhere around the world. The gift will also go to assist thousands of newly settled refugees as they rebuild lives in 22 cities throughout the U.S.

“Your contribution is also allowing us to provide vital assistance to communities in Pakistan, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other countries as they rebuild their hospitals, schools and other crucial infrastructure in the aftermath of conflict or natural disaster,” said Miliband in the note.