Thanks to Ambler journalist Jon Hurdle, the tiny farming community of Gare Arera in central Ethiopia has a school for the first time. Jon led a two-year campaign at his son Nathan’s former school, Shady Grove Elementary, that raised $25,000 for the Save the Children project. On a visit to Gare Arera, Jon presented the children there with pencils donated by Shady Grove students. “The Ethiopian children were thrilled with their pencils,” Jon says. “And that spoke volumes to our own students about how lucky they are.” Google “Shady Grove Ethiopia” for more.

Jon’s latest project, with Wissahickon Middle School, is a school in the African nation of Malawi.