Student Contributor -G. Nollmeyer
My 4th grade students raised money and worked with Kiva to provide small loans to business people across the globe. The students were able to select the individual business person they wanted to support which made the project more personal. Next, they can track the repayment of the loan and start thinking about who they want to support next!
After students learned about Kiva and spent some time exploring the many business people around the world who need support, it was time to form groups and start fundraising. In my class of 19, the students worked in teams of 5 and 4. They came up with a variety of strategies for raising money. As a class we decided that the Recess Store was the best idea. Once we had permission from the Principal, we opened our store. While it took us a while to raise the $100 we needed to split between the groups, I still think this was only a medium sized project because we didn’t need to devote too much time to it each day. With money raised, students were ready to select someone to support with their $25. There was so much energy in the room as the kids discussed and debated who “deserved” their loan. Students took this very seriously. You could see it on their faces. It was so great to see how empowered they were to make a difference in the lives of people they would probably never meet and who lived in places they may never even visit.
This project was very powerful for my students and totally worth the extra time on my part. It think I underestimated how much would be involved in the Recess Store. I spent quite a bit of time purchasing things from stores around town and working with the office to make sure we had a good and ethical money trail as well as supporting the work teams as they ran their “shifts” in the store. However, we got pretty good at it, and I will use this as a fundraiser in the future for other projects. Everything else in the project went very well. My advice to others would be that any hassle you have along the way is worth it in the end!
