The cost of 16 Single Use Cameras is $245, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
My 8th grade students this year have shown an incredible dedication to service, from tutoring 5th graders within our school to serving at daycares, retirement homes, boys and girls clubs, and the chamber of commerce on multiple ?Service Days.? After a presentation about the impact of Hurricane Katrina, the students asked if we could plan a trip to help serve the people of New Orleans. After a rigorous application process, including recommendation and sample fundraising letters, 16 8th graders are headed to New Orleans for a spring break service trip.
My charter school is located in rural North Carolina. We serve a heavily minority (95% African-American) and low-income (more than 75% free- and reduced-lunch) population. Our students attend school from 7:45 ? 5:00 every day during which we ensure them a college-preparatory curriculum that will put them on equal footing with their peers across the country. The students also attend school one or two Saturdays a month and for two weeks in the summer. When they enter in 5th grade, approximately 50% of students are below grade level. By 8th grade all students are enrolled in my Algebra 1 class. Last year these students had 96% and 98% passing on their state mathematics and reading exams, respectively. In a county where fewer than 8% of adults have their bachelor's degree, 100% of our students are committing to working to earn a spot at the college of their choice.
Trip participants are each required to commit to meetings twice a week and fundraising the cost of their trip, which is approximately $500. In New Orleans we will be gutting homes, doing light construction, and helping out at a school that will be opening in 2008. In addition we will be touring neighborhoods that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
As my students cannot afford many extras, I am asking for a donation of 16 cameras so my students can capture the amazing experience they will have in New Orleans. Half of them have never been on a plane, and the life-changing experience of seeing and serving in New Orleans is something you can make sure they will never forget.
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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. Drake and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.