Kayla Beck, Reporter
@kbeckcourant
Tomorrow, the French club will be bringing cultural music and good karma to the halls of New Canaan High School. They will be hosting a concert fundraiser to sponsor children in French-speaking developing countries. All students in French 3, 4, or AP, are welcome to come down to the Wagner Room at 9 o’clock tomorrow to contribute to the cause and enjoy a taste of French music.
Mark Foster, a French teacher at New Canaan High School and advisor to French Club, plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from each student’s ticket towards sponsoring a child. Mr. Foster already sponsors two children with his wife, one in Senegal and one in Chile. “A significant portion of the world lives less well than we do, we like to include somebody in our good fortune,” he said. “Through our sponsorship, they not only get regular medical and dental care, but they also get access to education, which is not guaranteed in a lot of countries.”
According to Mr. Foster, sponsoring a child doesn’t mean just donating, as it is quite an interactive experience. “You can buy stuff for them, so we’ll always put in 10 or 15 dollars,” he said. “It’s really cool because they will send you little cards and draw me little pictures their colored pencils which they get so excited about.”
Eric Vincent, a French musician who has traveled to over 20 different countries, has agreed to come to the high school and perform for the event. About 1 dollar from each ticket will be pooled together and hopefully be enough to sponsor a child in Senegal. Dr. Foster is even incorporating the process of sponsoring a child into his
classes. “We should sponsor a kid in a francophone country, so this time the only difference is we’re gonna go through a French organization, so all of our paperwork and contact will also be done in our French language,” he said.
The French Club is making plans to change people’s lives while still incorporating their love of the French language. With a big enough turnout at the fundraiser concert, enough money could be raised to begin sponsoring a child. The club has major plans in the future so be sure to keep on the lookout for upcoming fundraisers.
