District 58 Students Make an Impact

Hot dogs, grapes, princesses and puppy dogs. These, and dozens of other major food groups, cartoon heroes and fairy tale characters were represented as students of Whittier School showed their support for victims of the disaster in Japan.

The students in Elaine Crawford’s third grade class were anxious to do what they were able, to raise money for Japan relief efforts. After careful deliberations, the decision was made to hold a Mismatch Clothing Day, followed two days later by a Costume Day for the school.

Students were able to participate by donating $1 each. Teachers were able to wear blue jeans for donations of $3 each. The efforts, which were held just prior to spring break at the end of March, were an overwhelming success, raising more than $670 in donations, said Jennifer Korb Waldorf, District 58 community relations director. 

Students at Kingsley Elementary School also were inspired to raise money for victims of the Japan quake. Fourth grade teacher Liz Levy talked with her students about the disaster. “I showed them videos. The most powerful one, I think, was of the water overtaking the houses. They looked like toy houses,” she said.

“We talked about what the victims would do now. Their homes were gone, their schools were gone, and possibly family members were gone,” Levy said. “We talked about how these people now had nothing, and we decided we could give up something for people who had nothing. After the disaster took place, I told the kids we couldn’t physically go there to help, so we talked about what we could do.

They decided to accumulate good deeds during the course of the school day. “I told the kids that the more points they collected by doing good deeds, the more money I would donate,” Levy said.

The class of 25 kids identified a goal of earning 200 points during the week, then exceeded this by seven points. “They had to miss recess and sacrifice their time outside, in order to earn points,” she said. The students helped organize classrooms, sharpened pencils, helped with patrol and more. They had the additional option of earning even more points by completing math challenges for homework. 

“It’s enrichment or an extension of the math we do," Levy said. "Usually no one does them.” One-third of the class did the challenge work in order to earn additional points for their fundraiser. Their teacher was struck by the students’ determination and willingness to help. ‘They were really perseverant. It was so heartwarming,” she said.

The students at Kingsley tracked their points on a SMART Board, using a rendering of a “parachute man” as their marker. “They had to pick a symbol that they felt represented a good deed. They chose the parachute man because they viewed him as saving lives,” Levy said.

During their fundraiser, the Kingsley student council sent home envelopes to all of the student body soliciting donations for disaster relief.  A total of $426 was raised to date from Kingsley.

Waldorf said that she is proud, but not surprised, at the generosity of the District 58 community. During the district’s fundraising efforts in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, more than $12,000 was raised.