Today was a long, weird day, but I couldn’t be more proud of the class. Inspired by “The Water Princess”, the class is going to be raising money to help build wells and help drought stricken areas in West Africa. The inspiration behind the book, Georgie Badiel, has started a foundation which is doing great work building well in Burkina Faso and the kids are excited to help out. To raise money, they are collecting donations at the water fountains as well as selling water at Field Day. We spent the day going to the different classes and telling them what we were doing. It was a full and exhausting day, but the school was really receptive and seem excited to help this wonderful work.

So, ways you can help out: starting Monday, the kids will be able to drop donations in jars when they get a drink. This could be a penny, a quarter, or even a dollar. If a kid can’t donate, not a problem, but every little bit helps. I also started a fundraiser on Facebook, in case you know anyone that would like to donate but isn’t going to swing by for a drink of water. If you would like to check it out, you can see it here. We’re also going to be selling … something during Field Day. We’re debating water vs. lemonade vs. bottled water right now as a class, so I’ll get back to you when it is all sorted out. In any case, please send in some change for donations, share the facebook fundraiser, and help us make the world a little better place.

I’m also open to suggestions for ways to help raise even more money. I’m planning on taping a message from the kids about the fundraiser, recording a read-aloud of “The Water Princess”, and maybe partnering with another class to combine strengths, but I’m open for more ideas. Let me know if you have any ideas!