I work in a richly diverse district in upstate New York. Almost 70% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. I have the privilege of working with students who want to make a difference in their community, starting with their own school and their fellow classmates. I have seen kids share their lunches with other hungry kids. I have witnessed kids sharing books in class because another kid forgot theirs at home. I have even seen a student give a pair of expensive sneakers to another kid who was getting made fun of in PE class for having uncool sneakers. I am proud of my kids!
I am one of the facilitators of the Festival of Nations in my community. This is an annual event where the district's students come together with local college students and non-profit businesses and churches to celebrate our diversity and heritage. Every year, we identify a need in our community and donate the proceeds of our basket raffle to help fulfill that need. This year, Kathleen suggested helping our own students. She and her classmates have noticed that some kids are in need of basic every day items to make themselves more confident.
My students want to make sure all students have the necessities to feel confident about themselves because this will help everyone to be successful in school. My students have learned that not everyone has the same advantages. Some students struggle just to obtain the everyday things some of us take for granted.
Through this project, my students are learning empathy towards their fellow classmates. They are also learning leadership skills. They are taking charge of this project and asking for the supplies to fill the toiletry kits. They are learning how to organize the donations and prioritize which items they ask for. All of these are necessary skills to be successful in college, career and life in general.
In Their Own Words
I want to help out teens in our high school who are in need of personal hygiene items. Students talk about how expensive these things can be and they are necessities to keep your body healthy and have you feeling confident about personal cleanliness. I want to help teens feel confident about their personal cleanliness.
I think it would be an awesome idea to set up small gift packages filled with hygiene products that help to keep people clean and healthy to be stored at the school for students in need.
Mrs. Nikki Kersbergen directs our high school's Festival of Nations every year where we celebrate our community's heritage. It is always a fun day where the Festival has different music groups, awesome international food, dance performances and community tables. We always have a basket raffle at the Festival for a local group that needs help. This year, the Festival committee and the Multicultural Club thought that the Festival's raffle should go towards raising money for more personal hygiene items. The Donors Choose program could continue to help our students have personal hygiene products that everyone needs so they can feel good about themselves and not have to miss school because they feel dirty.
Personal hygiene is so important for staying healthy and feeling good and confident about yourself. I personally understand, from a girl's perspective, that products like tampons and pads are very expensive and they tend to run out quick. This product goes fast and we need these items every single month for the rest of our lives. I feel like all of these products used to clean ourselves get very expensive and some people can't afford them. To avoid embarrassment, we will leave some of these packages with the school nurse.
This project could help with school attendance, too. I think that there are some students who may stay home from school sometimes when they are embarrassed about their hygiene. We had some homeless students last year and I am sure they struggled with getting these supplies. School attendance is super important. This project will help students get supplies to feel better about themselves so they don't have to miss school.
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. Kersbergen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
