We are fortunate to have students and staff members that care about giving back to the community. Many schools have clubs that allow students to volunteer, staff members create donation drives throughout the year, and many other events to show the importance of giving back. This year, two teachers within the district are having their students participate in the UNICEF Kid Power Program. This program provides food packets to children around the world who suffer from malnutrition, based on the number of steps a student takes.
Sarah Switzer, a middle school teacher at ASPIRE Community Day School, said; “We know our students don’t always have the means and funds to donate, so this program makes it easy for them to give back and stay active.” UNICEF provides teachers with information ”missions” on different countries where children suffer from malnutrition. Each of the missions provide activities and lessons for about a month. ASPIRE students have donated 163 food packets for March, which equals about 3,912,000 steps!
Stephanie McCravey-Cooper, a fifth grade teacher at Jacob Wiens Elementary School, is having her students participate in the program as well. She said her students are truly enjoying the program. They pick up a power band, which tracks their steps and they walk, run, skip, and jump to bring their steps up. Each Friday, McCravey-Cooper has the students watch the UNICEF Mission videos; students will write a reflection about the video, and then receive a passport stamp for the country they learned about.
Over 190,000 students are participating in the UNICEF Kid Power Program this year and together they have donated over 1,000,000 food packets to children in need. Thank you Sarah and Stephanie for teaching our students the importance of giving back!