Students Rebuild is an organization that publishes a call to action for junior high and high school students around the globe by mobilizing them to connect, learn and take action on critical global issues. This year they have teamed up with One Million Bones, a campaign to cover the National Mall in Washington, DC with 1,000,000 handmade bones in honor of lives lost and in solidarity with those who have survived mass conflict.

So what was the challenge that Westfield art students partook in? Students Rebuild’s ‘Humanitarian Crises: A Path Forward’, an effort for students to assist in the One Million Bones campaign. This new, unique student bone making challenge was a social arts practice that used education and hands-on art making to provide discussions of genocide and intolerance, as well as art activism. Subsequently, art students at Westfield who partook in the challenge will become part of a larger community of artists and activists from around the world via their own handmade bones.

In addition to the art students having the chance to connect and be part of something big by making their own 26 piece foot bone, for every 100,000 handmade bones and 20,000 images of handmade bones contributed to Students Rebuild’s ‘Humaniatiran Crises: A Path Forward’, $100,000 will be donated to CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. Therefore they are raising funds without actually fundraising!

All in all, Westfield was glad to be a part of the path forward by creating 1199 bones (a total of 45 feet and 1 hand) and hopes you supported us in our efforts to participate with Students Rebuild. After Students Rebuild received our shipment of bones, they contacted Art Teacher Ms. Matt to let her know that Westfield's bones were getting quite the attention while on display (see photograph). For more information on the challenge, visit http://studentsrebuild.org /humanitarian-crises-path-forward!