Flood The Park with Color: A Mini-Grant Story
Ms. Straub is a 3rd grade teacher from Indiana who said, "our community was devastated with flooding, and we had the perfect opportunity to complete a service project to benefit those impacted by flood damage."
After incorporating the lesson Disaster Relief-You Can Count on Me! throughout 3rd grade classrooms, the students had a solid introduction to the concept of philanthropy and why it is important to give time, talent, and treasure to help those in need.
"It makes me feel awesome to know how much we're giving to the park," said one student. "It's awesome to know the responsibility of making the park beautiful after the flood," said another.
Seventy students traveled to the local park to see the flood damage firsthand. Once they witnessed the destruction, they used the experience to plan ways to rebuild and beautify the park. They developed a landscape design and put together a list of needed supplies. With this, they presented their ideas to the local Parks Department.
The Learning to Give mini-grant supported bus transportation for the students and was also used to purchase supplies to beautify the park. Shade trees were planted, flowers were added, and fencing was replaced."Once the students realized they were in charge of the project, they took ownership," said Straub. "They were determined to not only use all of the money, but to make solid decisions about how to spend the money."
*Photos show the students' field trip to the park where a member of the parks department explained how high the flood waters crested (over 17 feet) by using the dog park fence as a reference.