The learners will collect donations for hurricane disaster relief. They will choose a relief organization(s) to contribute it to and advocate in their families, school and community peer groups for contributions to the Hurricane Katrina relief.

Teacher Note: The majority of the relief organizations are requesting help through monetary donations. The logistics of making a financial donation are by far the least complicated for the teacher/school, but your class/school may wish to collect other items such as blankets, new toys, personal hygiene products, diapers, etc. to donate to shelters housing the hurricane victims. Be sure to consult, in advance of any collection, with organizations about what is really needed and ascertain in advance how the items will be collected, stored and transported to the relief agency or shelter. The instructional procedure for this lesson is written assuming that money will be collected. If the student/teacher choice is to collect items, research about the organizations should be done first so that the specific item needed can be determined before any collecting begins.

Anticipatory Set:

Ask the students "If you had $10, what would you do with the money?" Ask students if they ever receive money as gifts for holidays and special occasions or if they earn money through doing jobs. Discuss with students what they usually do with their own money. Tell the students that today they are going to learn about choices children and adults have in making decisions about what to do with their money.

• Tell the students that there are three different things they can do with their money. They can spend it, save it or donate it. On three separate pieces of chart paper, list the following words as headings: save, spend and donate. Lead a class discussion generating ideas to define these vocabulary words. (What does it mean to spend money? How do people save money? What does it mean to donate money?) List the children’s response on the appropriate charts.
  
  
• Following are some definitions for the teacher’s reference only:

Save: a. to put by as a store or reserve (part of an allowance each week); to accumulate, hoard or make larger.
b. to put aside for a particular purpose or occasion (a favorite shirt for a special day or some candy to share with a friend).

Spend: a. to pay out, trade money for goods, use money freely.
b. to make use of, employ.
c. to exhaust or wear out by use or activity.

Donate: a. to make a free gift or a grant of; contribute esp. to a charitable cause (money for a soup kitchen, food pantry, or a faith organization) or toward a public-service institution (a business donated a site for a park).

• Set aside the "Save" and "Spend" charts. Tell the class that you are going to teach them a word related to the word "donate." Philanthropy is "giving your time, treasures or talents and taking action for the common good." Write that definition on the chart. Talk about what the students’ treasures might be (money, candy, a special toy, etc.). Tell the students about some local examples of philanthropy: a park donated or maintained by someone, a soup kitchen, art events, etc. Talk about who benefits from philanthropy and the meaning of the core democratic principle of "common good" if the students are not familiar with it.
  
  
• Younger students: Teach the children the lyrics for the song "What is a Philanthropist?" (See Attachment One) Check for student understanding of the words and concepts in the lyrics.
  
  
• Older students: As a class, create a song or rap that incorporates the definition of philanthropy and philanthropist. Attachment One may be used as an example.
  
  
• Read aloud the book Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chin. (See Bibliographical References.)
  
  
• Discuss the concepts from the book: Ask the students to recall what choices Sam had for his money. What did Sam finally do with his money? Have the students ever felt the way Sam did in the story when he was angry that he didn’t have more money? Have students ever felt like giving their money to someone who needed it more?
  
  
• Ask the students what they have seen or heard about the Hurricane Katrina disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Clarify the information the students share and help them locate the area effected on a classroom map. Ask the students to think about all the people and/or tpossessions they have in their homes that are important to them, and to imagine what it might be like to loose people you love or important things. Tell them that many children just like them are experiencing that because of the hurricane. Ask the children to reflect about why someone might want to help by sharing or donating money or other goods in response to this crisis.
  
  
• Explain to the students that they have an opportunity to join together as a class and school to donate money (or other items) to this cause.
  
  
• If collecting money, tell them that they may bring in coins from home. Talk with the students about where the money might come from. Suggest that they might offer to do jobs for family and friends to earn money, or their families might help them collect money from family members and friends.
  
  
• Ask the students if they would like to have other children in the school involved in the project and how this kind of cooperation might enhance the effects of the project. If so, work with the class to create posters/banners to display in the school or in the community. Guide the students in creating a persuasive presentation that might including a brief oral presentation about philanthropy and the need to be part of the relief effort. The song "What is a Philanthropist?" could be taught to their peers as part of the presentation to promote the project in other classrooms and school-wide.
  
  
• Have the students sort the coins and dollars collected each day and post the results. Older students can develop a "thermometer" as a graphic to keep track of the donations. Younger students can produce a paper "Chain of Caring" to hang in the classroom or school to tally the donations. Each time the money is counted, students add a link to the chain, one link per dollar, numbering each link so that the last link will indicate the total after each day.
  
  
• During the fund raising period the teacher or students (depending on ability level) should visit Web sites to access information about the organizations that are partnered in hurricane relief (See Attachment Five for a list of organizations). For younger students, the teacher can summarize information for the students about possible recipient organizations and assist the students in deciding to which organization(s) to donate the funds. For older students, divide the learners into small groups and have each group research an organization After the research is complete have the groups report their findings and recommend whether or not they think this would be an appropriate organization to donate funds to. Vote or come to consensus about which organization(s) will receive the funds. Use Attachment Four: Conducting Research as a guide.
  
  
• Student voice is very important in making the decision of where to donate funds/items. The choice of organization can be made by voting or by consensus. The learners may decide on one organization to receive the donations, or decide to give a percentage of the donations to several organizations. Follow up on the work of the organization in the hurricane area by periodically researching their accomplishments and problems as they work to rebuild the area.
  
  
• During the project ask students to talk about how they feel about their efforts. When the project is complete have younger students draw pictures of what it will look like when their donations are turned into concrete relief (food, shelter, water) in the shelters and states receiving the aid. Ask students to write or dictate a sentence about how they feel about their philanthropy.
  
  
• Older students could write an essay, poem or song about the need to help and their experience as philanthropists. See Attachment Three for a format for writing haiku or cinquain poems.

Send home a note introducing the project and explaining how you will be collecting money or items to donate to a charitable cause (See Attachment Two: Letter to Families and Caregivers).

Chin, Karen. Sam and the Lucky Money. Lee and Low Books (reprint edition), 1997. ISBN: 1880000539