Lamar honors former student, El Paso Challenge creator
(LAMAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- Sept. 6, 2019) — Teachers from this Central El Paso school gathered with one of their former students to celebrate the movement he created and join in the efforts to spread acts of kindness throughout the city.
About 35 Lamar teachers, all wearing custom-made El Paso Challenge T-shirts, gathered before school on Friday to take a photo with Ruben Martinez, the former Lamar student who created the challenge just hours after the Aug. 3 attack at the Cielo Vista Walmart.
Martinez, who is now a sixth-grader at Wiggs Middle School, asked El Pasoans to do 22 acts of random kindness — one of each of the victims who died following the attack. The challenge, which he dubbed the El Paso Challenge, inspired thousands of people throughout the country and gained national attention.
“Something as simple as saying good morning or opening the door for someone can be a good deed,” said Lamar Counselor Cindy Aguilar. “At Lamar, we implement the ‘Lamar Challenge’ and try to teach students on a daily basis the importance of doing good deeds. As teachers and administrators, we are being good role models and show them what a good citizen should be doing.”
Photos by Leonel Monroy