Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2866
their pockets for a charitable organization. Freeman left the room so they wouldn’t feel pressured. When he returned, he was shocked. “The average kid in our school contrib- uted 93 cents each, but these kids put an average of $11 apiece into the box,” says Freeman. “It made me cry because these were the poorest kids in the school. But they understood how important it is to help someone else.” Former student Margaret Lewis helped the idea become a reality. She shared pictures from her vacation to Africa and spoke in every classroom. Students collected $9,000 the first year and built a c lassroom for a school in Naro Moru, Kenya, where students had been taught in a decrepit horse barn. Next, students focused on Ne- pal, where some young girls are sold because their parents are destitute. “It’s not a pretty picture,” says Freeman. “But we found an organization that was providing families with piglets, because if the families have a piglet they can sell for $50, they don’t have to sell their daughters. We provided money for 30 piglets.” Other ODFL projects include sending 452 used bicycles to Africa, buying cows to provide milk for 120 orphans in Africa, and donating earthquake relief for t he C hina R ed Cr oss through ODFL Facebook net- working. Students decide which proj- Mike Burrell San Jose TA ects to fund and have created posters and educational mate- rials for a “Fundraiser in a Box” kit that has everything needed for other schools to follow their lead. They work with students nationwide, including those at a school in Arizona that is helping Fourth-graders Sara Padilla and William Ervin help restore a bald eagle habitat at Lake Shasta with their teacher Niki Manning, a member of the Bella Vista Teachers Association. rebuild a school in New Orleans. “It’s so simple. You just give $1, and anybody can do it,” says Mandeep Chahal, president of the school’s ODFL Club. “Students in New York and Florida are e-mailing us for the fundraiser boxes, which have everything from posters to a script on how to talk to administrators. We can help them every step of the way, and the results are immediate. And students can see results on the ODFL website [www. odfl.org].” In today’s post-9/11 society, a global approach is needed more than ever, says Freeman. “We have global warming, ozone depletion, species extinction, and prob- lems of such magnitude that no nation by itself can fix these problems that threaten humanity. It’s that mindset of self-interest, competition and isolation that has brought us to where we are now. It’s time for kids to become effective by being cooperative, compassionate and connected. You can call it the 3 C’s.” Social justice Promoting social justice and tolerance at home was the focus of Helen Huynh’s leadership class at King Drew Magnet High School in Los Angeles. Her students visited the city’s Museum of Tolerance 10 California Educator | december 2008 • january 2009