Ongoing Charity Project

Since school began we have had 4 mason jars and a piggy bank sitting on a shelf in the math area of the classroom. Only recently have the students began to ask why we have a bunch of coins laying around the class. So, we have started talking about what we are going to do with these coins. 

The first element of this project is the work itself. There are four jars, one each for pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. There is also a piggy bank where I have been putting small amounts of change each day. When the bank has money in it, the work is simply to remove the coins and sort them in to the appropriate jar. We are working very hard to remember that coins never come out of the jars, only the piggy bank.

The second element is talking about where the money is going to go. Some parents may remember that the coins are going to eventually go to a charity. The first charity we will be donating to is the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. This charity was chosen because one of our parents works there, making it easy to have her let us know where the money is going, how much food we were able to buy, and to help illustrate the purpose of charity. 

The piggy bank is located in the back corner of the classroom, near the cots

This brings us to our third element- having the children give away some of their spare change to put in the bank. While I have told the kids that they are welcome to bring in change, I think this is a dialogue best had at home. By the time class has ended and everyone is home for the day it is the last thing on anyone's mind (mine included, I keep meaning to beg for money from my husband because I have run out!). So, if any parents are bringing their student in before class, I encourage you to walk over to the bank with your child and just drop a coin or two in the bank. For those arriving at 9, I will start bringing the bank out with me, if you feel like donating a little bit to our cause. Remember, this is an ongoing project, so just a few cents at a time would be absolutely wonderful. My hope is that eventually students will start asking for money to put in the bank, which would be a wonderful learning opportunity at home. Parents could discuss why or why not they feel it is important to give more money to our piggy bank. You could ask your child to perform extra tasks around the house to earn money. I do not want to jinx anything, but wouldn't it be amazing if your child was asking what work they could do in order to give their earnings away?

Hopefully we can generate even more interest in this project in order to provide some wonderful Thanksgiving Day meals to families in need!