Academy Students Fill Classrooms Around the Globe
Last week marked the end of our Fill a Classroom school supply drive, hosted by The Academy for G.O.D.
These students at Aquatic Public School in India, along with schools we work closely with in El Salvador and Uganda will be the recipients of the school supplies drive.
After receiving lists of needed supplies from G.O.D. partner schools in India, El Salvador and Uganda, homerooms at the Academy were paired up with a particular schools, and encouraged to fill the needs together. The response of Academy students and their families was overwhelming! Collectively, students gathered nearly 400 pounds of school supply items, from paper and pencils to art supplies and math games. 12 large boxes of materials are now packed full, ready to be sent out with Academy teachers volunteering their time abroad this summer.
Teaching students to have a global awareness is one of the emphases at the Academy. Fill a Classroom drive gave kids a chance not just to learn about what’s going on around the world, but to be a part of doing something about it. It was precious to see the generosity that flowed from students of every level. Kindergarteners painstakingly chose their best pencils to share. 7-year-olds spent entire recess blocks combing over the list of supplies, matching classmates up with particular items to make sure that each and every supply would be gathered for St. John’s Primary School in Uganda.
These items, all collected by students at the Academy for G.O.D., are a result of the students learning about the needs in the developing world and responding generously.
11 year old Porter Bohannon went shopping with his family, and brought in paper, scissors and notebooks for students at a rural school in El Salvador. “I’m hoping my items will help the kids have a better learning experience in school.”
12-year-old Elliott Davis thought creatively about how she could give from her own possession. “I had a pair of brand new slippers that I’d been planning to return and when I heard about the school supply drive I thought, that would be the perfect thing to use my money on! So my mom and I returned the slippers and went and got 22 boxes of crayons, a jumbo pack of expo markers, and those were the last items on the list for our school in El Salvador!”
The winning class that earned a pizza party after gathering the most supplies for Aquatic Public School in India.
The 8-10 year old students who gathered supplies for Aquatic Public School in India were the first ones to check every item off their list! They earned a pizza party together, along with some tasty treats that were donated by parents. But even after the pizza party had been won, students banded together to donate the final remaining items on each supply list, until in the end we received close to 10% more items than requested on almost every list!
We want to thank every person who donated towards teachers and students all over the globe, who will excitedly receive these supplies and start their school year off with a well-stocked classroom! It is more blessed to give than to receive, and we are blessed to have wrapped up our school year by giving together.
