Clean Start Buckets! Helping Those Impacted By Homelessness
My students need basic cleaning supplies to create 12 "Clean Start Buckets" for members of our community who are "starting over" in housing after being impacted by homelessness.
I am fortunate enough to spend my days with elementary aged students. Being a Title I Specialist Teacher means that I teach every child in our building as well as develop programming that promotes student success, both academically and socially! What an honor to be trusted on such a large scale! Approximately 3/4 of my students live in poverty, thus all students are given free breakfast and lunch daily via federal funding. Also around 50% of my students speak English as a second language.
Being a teacher at a Title I School opens up opportunity to serve students in unique and creative ways.
Many of my students benefit from participating in service-based learning projects. Thus I organized and launched a "Senior Service Club" in the fall of 2014. 5th graders are encouraged to participate in this activity.
In total, I teach around 850 students K-5. For the purpose of this proposal, I am targeting my project at my 5th grade Senior Service Club Students (approximately 60 students), as my Donors Choose Project is for supplies to create 12 "Clean Start Supply Buckets" for families in our community who are "starting over" after being impacted by homelessness.
My Project
My project would be used as a service-based learning vehicle to teach the character trait of empathy. As a Title 1 Specialist one of the programs I helped to design, "Senior Service Club" is a club for 5th graders who participate in Service-Based Learning Projects. I always try to ensure that the projects that my students participate in foster empathy. When I heard of the HOMESHOWS Match via Donors Choose I knew a project to benefit those in our community who are impacted by homelessness would be perfect! It is my hope that, if funded, our club would have the opportunity to put together 12 "Clean Start Buckets" for members of our community who are getting a clean start after being impacted by homelessness. The Service Club would then create notes of encouragement to attach to the buckets. Finally, our local "Crisis Control" center has agreed to accept these buckets and give the students a tour of the facility to help further the development of empathy in my students.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Valentine-Turner and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
