American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

American Lighthouse Foundation

 Dedicated to Saving America's Lighthouses and Their History

 

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American Lighthouse Foundation

 American Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.

P.O. Box 565

Rockland, Maine 04841

Phone: 207-594-4174

Fax: 207-596-1091

info@lighthousefoundation.org

 

The American Lighthouse Foundation is a  Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization dedicated to the

preservation of America's historic lighthouses & lightships and

their heritage.

 

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Vacation Bible School Students Learn About Lighthouses, Collect Money for Newport Harbor Light

 

 
 

Who looks at a lighthouse and doesn’t have some sort of feeling of appreciation and intrigue for their stately presence along our nation’s coastlines? Lighthouses may hearken back to a bygone era, but their splendor and mystique continues to transcend time – even for America’s youth who are growing up in the

Vacation Bible School Students

Photo Courtesy Risa Hughes    

Vacation Bible School Students

Paradise United Methodist Church

Mt. Pleasant, PA

 
 

fast-paced digital age of the 21st century.

 

More and more students around the country are learning about lighthouses – many for the first time, and when they do, the fascination of the learning experience has a lasting impact. This was certainly the case for approximately 150 Vacation Bible School students from the Paradise United Methodist Church in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania in July 2005.

 

The children, who ranged in age from 3 to 12, were taught about the role of lighthouses in helping safeguard our nation’s waterways through a variety of educational approaches. In order to make the learning

 
 

Newport Harbor Lighthouse

Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani       

Newport Harbor Lighthouse

Newport, RI

experience more effective, teachers chose to focus on one lighthouse for certain visual aspects of their program – in this case, Newport Harbor Lighthouse in Rhode Island. “We had a picture of the lighthouse so they could see what it looked like,” says Risa Hughes.

 

In addition, teachers utilized information gleaned from the American Lighthouse Foundation web site and others during each program, with the highlight being a historical story about lighthouses that was read aloud to the class. “Every night they heard a story about lighthouses from the

 
 

Lighthouse Digest magazine,” said Hughes. “The children loved hearing about the past history of lighthouses and how much the lights and their keepers were needed to help save lives.”

 

History was not the only aspect of a lighthouse that the students explored during Vacation Bible School. They also paralleled the symbolism associated with lighthouses to their Bible studies. “The children learned how Jesus is a constant light in their life,” said Hughes. “There are many Bible verses with “light” in them, so we used one each night and our songs tied in too.”

 

Risa Hughes of Paradise United Methodist Church further commented that in addition to the children incorporating the subject of lighthouses within

 
 
their Vacation Bible School classes, they also wanted to enable the students to have the opportunity to help a lighthouse with a donation. The lighthouse chosen was Newport Harbor Light, under the care of the American Lighthouse Foundation. The students collected $150 for the lighthouse, to be applied to the planned $120,000 restoration of the 1842 beacon and historical

Newport Harbor Lighthouse

Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.    

 “The “Lighthouse” Bible School helped the children and all of the helpers to learn so

much more about the past and present of lighthouses.”  - Risa Hughes

 
 

icon of Newport Harbor. “We would like to thank Bob Trapani, executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation, for all his assistance in helping us find a lighthouse to donate to,” said Hughes.

 

 

 
       
 

 

 
 

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