For Bellwood families, a clean water fundraiser is turning classroom reading into a tribute to a teacher whose lessons reached far beyond Blair County.

Myers Elementary students are raising money for a water well in South Sudan while honoring Lori Crownover, a former fourth grade teacher who died in August after battling cancer.

Crownover led an earlier student effort that raised enough to build a well in 2017.

Her loss gives this year’s project a deeply personal purpose.

From prekindergarten through fifth grade, students are reading about the daily challenge of finding safe drinking water and asking the community to help.

The goal is $20,000 for another well, with $3,600 raised by the kickoff assembly.

For the older students, reading A Long Walk to Water connects South Sudan water wells to the lives of children who cannot simply turn on a tap.

Staff members have also recorded chapters for families to hear at home, carrying the conversation beyond the school day.

Teacher Kyley Longo helped revive Crownover’s service project, while Principal Matt Stinson has emphasized the value of teaching children to give back.

The return of the fundraiser turns a school tradition into a lasting memorial.

Former students remember making brochures, speaking with businesses and learning that their voices could move adults to act.

Now a new class is making posters and videos to bring neighbors into the effort.

The school’s Water Walk is scheduled for Friday, October 9, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Bellwood-Antis track.

Families can take part in a story walk and activities intended to show what traveling for clean water can mean.

For a community accustomed to supporting its schools, this is a chance to support children far away, too.

The need for South Sudan clean water is serious, but the lesson in Bellwood is hopeful: young people can help make change.