DEERFIELD — In the hallway of the Bement School, there are nearly 40 suitcases tucked up against the wall. Battle worn from years of travel, the old hand-me-downs are not impressive, but what is inside will be worth its weight in gold a few thousand miles away: books, paper, pens and school supplies.
Bement’s 32 ninth-grade students will take them to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic next week, where they will work for a week with the children as part of a service learning project with the country that shares a Caribbean island with Haiti.