As Mother Teresa once said, “If you can’t feed 100 people, then feed just one.” Heritage Elementary students in Highland Village recently did more than that for a recent project.
For an entire month, Heritage fourth- and fifth-grade students worked together to research the need to help starving children worldwide and partner with feedOne – a non-profit organization where all donations go straight back to supporting its cause – feeding hungry children worldwide.
Students quickly learned $10 provides food for a child to eat for an entire month – a project and cause directly in line with Lewisville ISD’s Strategic Design core belief that an educated citizenry is essential for equal opportunity and a prosperous society.
“My hope is for our students to realize how blessed they are,” teacher Traci Inman said. “Through their research, our students have learned how devastation, drought and government play an important role in how some people live in the United States and around the world. These hungry children need others to step up and learn more about humility, generosity and what it means to give back and be selfless.”
According to Inman, while the project supports a wonderful cause, at the same time, it provides multiple learning opportunities incorporating daily curriculum like math, writing, research and social studies.
In the beginning, students spent two weeks tallying the amount of money their families spent on food and entertainment. To continue the math lesson, students went to Heritage’s cafeteria to research how the money Heritage spends in a month to feed its students, could help feedOne feed approximately 490 children.
To help students practice their persuasive writing skills, they wrote business-style letters to solicit major corporations and/or close family friends to support the cause.
From the project itself, Inman found students taking the initiative to work with their friends and families to generate more donations through lemonade stands; bake and garage sales; and one student went as far as donating $50 of his birthday money to support the mission.
“Literally, every day my students are turning in money from walking dogs or a lemonade stand,” Inman said. “They are excited to work with their friends and families to raise awareness.”
Students even created posters and flyers with Quick Response (QR) codes linking directly to Heritage’s feedOne webpage to create more awareness.
To incorporate technology, students had the pleasure of speaking with feedOne’s Director, Jeff Roman, via Skype, a web-based video conferencing application, to learn more about the organization and its mission. In addition, students also had the opportunity to see first-hand the beans and rice feedOne actually uses to feed the communities they help.
In an effort to empower students to become social activists to end world hunger and to culminate the project, Heritage students worked in groups to create public service announcements. One group of students made a music video PSA to creatively demonstrate how for a little less than the cost of a large pizza, they could feed a child for an entire month.
“For less than the cost of a large pizza, I can help feed a child for one month,” student Caitlin Casassa said. “I love this project, because we get to help others.”
To date, Heritage has raised close to $3,500. Instead of opting for a pizza tonight, partner with Heritage to help support this worthy cause. Click here to learn how.
For more pictures and information, visit feedOne’s blog post to learn more about how Heritage students are considered to be world changers.
.jpg)
