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Readathon Raises $8,328 for Clean Water Projects |
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by Beatrice Bartolotta, Fourth Grade Teacher
published July 14, 2008
 In
late spring of 2008, the BFS Lower School organized a month-long
read-a-thon to raise money for Water 1st International. While the
school is active in many community service projects throughout the
year, the fourth grade in particular was looking to take action against
an issue of particular importance to our students—that of helping
children and families less fortunate than themselves.
The genesis of the idea grew out of a Quaker meeting in Ellen Conroy’s
fourth grade class. The query that day revolved around identifying
larger issues of concern that the students would like to help change or
improve. Some of the issues raised included people and families living
in poverty, health issues and children’s education. As Ellen recalls,
“As I listened to them share their thoughts and ideas, I realized that
the ability to have access to clean water seemed the most important
issue—if we could provide people with this most basic resource, then
the potential for them to attain a better life for themselves, their
families and their community was also possible.”
Ellen then conducted some online research regarding accessibility to
clean water and discovered water1st.org. Impressed by the site and the
work they had done, she proposed that the Lower School, led by the
fourth grade, conduct a month-long read-a-thon to raise money to
further support their efforts.
HOW IT WORKED
The fourth graders were first introduced to the work that Water 1st had
been doing in countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Honduras and India
through the extensive information on their web site. They then created
posters advertising the event and visited classrooms prior to the
kick-off, to explain Water 1st’s mission and how the money raised would
be used to provide safe water in these and other communities.
The entire lower school (grades K-4) participated in the effort, which
began on May 5th and ended on June 2nd. Students secured sponsors and
money was pledged for each book read by the class (with a maximum
amount option). For example, if a sponsor pledged $1.00 per book and
the class read 100 books, their donation would be $100. In order to
discourage competition among children about who read more books, the
students read individually and their completed titles counted toward a
class total. For younger grades, students who were not yet reading
independently could have books read to them.
THE RESULTS
At the conclusion of the month-long effort, students had read hundreds
of books, raising a total of $8,328! Needless to say, we are very proud
of the students, families and other members of the Brooklyn Friends
community, all of whom contributed to the success of this effort. |
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