My students need the following school supplies to complete our "back to school" project. As a class we create 80 "back to school bags," with pens, pencils, highlighters and markers, for children who are in need.
My students need to learn job and life skills. Their special needs often interfere with their ability to process and apply the information they receive in classroom instruction. Creative approaches to learning like, Packaged with Care (PWC), help them overcome these challenges.
I am a high school special education teacher for students who have Intellectual Disabilities and Autism (ages 14-22).
My students are incredible! They are unique and different in their own way, but they all love helping others. Our school has about 4,500 students and is extremely diverse. Finding a nitch can be challenging. My students love social opportunities and being in the spotlight. PWC has given my students the opportunity to be themselves, showcase their work, and practice the life and job skills they need while helping others. My students are thoughtful, caring, genuine, and motivated.
My Project
I am requesting the donation of school supplies for a PWC project, back-to-school supply bags for children who are in foster care. Although the supplies are not directly used in my classroom, my students greatly benefit by learning about the needs of the community, building skills, self-esteem and confidence, and by helping others. PWC is a service learning opportunity that incorporates learning essential job and life skills while serving the community. All PWC projects begin with the students planning a service learning project. Items are purchased and then the students assemble them into packages. As a class, the students deliver the packages to community-based charities. Following the delivery of the packages, a representative of the recipient organization presents to the students about their organization. Lastly, the students compose a newsletter to reflect on the project, explain what was accomplished, and what they learned. 100% of the donations are donated back to the community.
PWC is a multilevel program that benefits my students and our community.
Since I started the program 3 years ago, it has steadily grown and my students have flourished. PWC, through donations from local organizations (e.g. Knights of Columbus), businesses (e.g. Costco Wholesale), and a grant from Pepsi Refresh, has given my students the opportunity to be the helpers rather than the helped which has improved their job and life skills, confidence and self-esteem, and awareness of others in need.
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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 Mrs. Gaeta and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.