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# Students take on summer of philanthropy
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/students-take-on-summer-of-philanthropy/
- Published: 2005-06-27T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:17:49.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*SM Red Cross to sponsor students for tsunami relief*

*By SARA MILSTEIN Special to the Daily Press*

For many high school students, summer means hanging at the beach and reveling in a few months of freedom. But for three local students, summer means philanthropy halfway around the world.

Laurent Sander Grill, 16, a junior at Crossroads School, Mariza B. Lockhart, 15, a sophomore at Santa Monica High School, and Gether Gibson, 17, a Santa Monica High School junior, will head to Sri Lanka on July 1 to help the locals there rebuild their lives after the devastation caused by December’s tsunami.

The local students will travel with seven other Southern California youths who are being sponsored by Relief International- Schools Online (RI-SOL) and the American Red Cross of Santa Monica.

The youth exchange, “Global Citizenship — Youth Exploration and Empowerment,” aims to give young leaders the opportunity to view cultures, youth leadership and community development from a global perspective. The program offers participants the opportunity to develop and maintain personal linkages with Sri Lankan youth while familiarizing themselves with an entirely different culture.

The students and their five adult chaperones will embark on a 23-day journey to Sri Lanka, an island country near India whose southern coast is still in shambles from the destruction left by one of the world’s worst natural disasters. The service learning trip offers a multi-faceted approach, involving preparation and training, education and activism.

“I’m excited to help out while learning about other cultures,” Lockhart said. “I know the experience will be so rewarding.”

During their first week in Sri Lanka, students will talk with community members in an effort to understand the country and its culture. Once they get oriented, students will help rebuild schools, replant vegetation and clean debris in needy communities. Their trip will culminate with a service project that they will plan and design.

They were inspired to take part in the abroad program after working with the Santa Monica Red Cross, which has trained them in disaster relief and community aid. To further prepare for their trip, the students had to take part in physical training and teamwork exercises with the Outward Bound program, which was “tough for some people,” said Grill. The Outward Bound trip was meant to try their physical and personal limits, while encouraging the students to emerge from their experience as a single-team entity.

“We really didn’t know each other before, but (the Outward Bound trip) really prepared us to work as a team,” Grill said.

For Grill, who says he’s never met any Sri Lankans before, his time in Sri Lanka will mean helping as well as learning. Grill’s volunteer experience has involved little commitment in comparison with the upcoming service learning trip. He views the program as an “opportunity to make a real difference, make a real impact.”

In addition to their activism, students will learn about international development and peace studies by sitting in on educational seminars. The high schoolers will have the opportunity to work with numerous non-governmental organizations that also are committed to helping the affected region.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for some bright, hard-working kids to experience a part of the world they would normally never see, and to help build a bridge of friendship and understanding between the peoples of Sri Lanka and Santa Monica,” said Jerry Washington, the Santa Monica chapter’s director of volunteers and youth services.

The trip is a pilot project for RI-SOL and is sponsored by American Red Cross. Earlier this year, the American Red Cross pledged $18.3 million in aid and has been a constant presence in rebuilding the region.

RI-SOL is a Los Angeles based nongovernmental organization that has 15 years of experience in providing emergency, rehabilitation and developmental services addressing long-term developmental needs. RI-SOL is involved in delivering education and communication technologies to classrooms around the world and has been conducting academic and cultural exchanges since 2000.

All costs for the trip, including predeparture orientation, travel expenses and airfares for both students and adult chaperones, are covered by a private financial grant through RI-SOL.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 27, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)