My students need basic items such as toothpaste/toothbrushes, deodorant, easy to prepare dehydrated meals, water, soap, shampoo, and feminine hygiene products so that they may bring them home for emergencies.
Many of my students are from migrant and/or underprivileged families who live in our area during strawberry and blueberry harvesting seasons. Oftentimes, their family's wages and income prevent them from affording basic and consistently needed, yet always expensive, necessities that others may take for granted on any given day.
Our school enrolls over 2,500 students with 50% categorized as economically disadvantaged and 44% categorized as "Minority: Non-White" (2015-2016 School Improvement Plan Data).
With such a diverse population, I realize that, although there is no one solution to the complex problem of providing quality education in the 21st century, helping my students meet basic needs that help them with warmth, care, and self-confidence is a leap in the right direction.
Despite our school being categorized as "High-Poverty," it does not lessen the richness of my students' passion for learning; being in circumstances where basic needs are not met should not preclude the joy that they find in education. With local AND national supporters engaged through DonorsChoose.org, I have a sincere belief that our classroom will CONTINUE to experience the love and support shown through philanthropy.
My Project
Imagine arriving to school feeling self-conscious and agitated because you cannot take care of your personal hygiene or, better yet, imagine feeling dejected, irritated, and inattentive because you are simply hungry due to a lack of food and nutrition. These situations, rather than "worst case" are, in fact, the reality for many of my students. A lack of food to satisfy basic needs and a lack of confidence due to the inaccessibility of hygienic products confront many of my students on a daily basis.
"People first concern themselves with meeting their basic needs; only afterwards, do they pursue any higher needs" (Abdolkarim Soroush).
Now, imagine arriving to school knowing that you will be able to access supplies as soon as you get to class and take care of meeting your basic needs. I want my students to rest easy knowing that they will always have access to food and hygiene so that they can focus on learning.
If you can, continue to imagine the sense of comfort and gratitude that my students would have knowing that they can simply request items in class that their family are unable to purchase at home such as deodorant to control perspiration in the Florida heat; toothbrushes and toothpaste so that they can feel confident speaking to classmates during group work; feminine hygiene products in the case of emergencies; toilet paper that they can take home in extreme emergencies; soap and shampoo that they can use to shower and feel confident in being around people; and, most importantly, food and water that they can take home overnight or over the weekend! I want my students to feel hope; the kind that comes from knowing there are supporters out there who love and care for them; having these supplies on hand will help.
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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 Mr. Pond, M.Ed. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
