This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Help us help others! We want to do a school-wide Empty Bowls project, a grass-roots movement to fight hunger through the arts. Your donation enables 630 students to experience clay and the importance of giving by making and selling empty bowls to raise money for a hunger-fighting organization.
Our school is a neighborhood elementary school in Chicago that battles to educate and inspire despite the increasing inner-city challenges of poverty, street violence, drugs and gangs.
The parents and teachers work tirelessly to support excellence in our children's education despite devastating budget cuts.
One resource that is being cut in schools is Art and Character Education. The Empty Bowls project supports BOTH by allowing students to be active citizens who help solve their community's problems while also having fun using clay! Last year I was able to do this project with 60 students, and the results were inspiring. Even the most disengaged "trouble-students" became serious and focused on their one-of-a-kind coil bowl or pinch pot creations. They were excited to discuss real-life problems, and be part of a solution. Though I expected resistance to giving up their bowls, kids gladly donated their art and became advocates against hunger,
My Project
This year I would like EVERY students to be part of this empowering creative experience. That means we need enough Air-Dry Clay for grades 3-8, and Model Magic for grades K-2. With budget cuts, we currently have no funds for new art supplies, which translates to no clay unit or Empty Bowls Project. Like all budget-strapped schools, I will find a way to teach clay even if it means making homemade play-dough. Of course play-dough can not dry to make bowls for an Empty Bowls fundraiser. More importantly, don't ALL students deserve to learn and experience using the right materials?
If you think back on your own education, what learning experiences do you remember?
More than likely, it was a hands-on experience in which you made something for more than just a grade. With the clay you donate, 630 kids ages 5 to 15 will be able to have this kind of memorable learning experience. They will make something ever-lasting... a hand-designed clay bowl as well as a sense of activism and pride in knowing that they are part of something greater than themselves.
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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 Ms. Susie and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.