Adopt A Classroom--Our Small Start

I started by buying cases of water to trade at work for my cost per bottle. I used the "water money" to buy book sets for the kindergarten classroom. When I talked to the teacher to see what her students' greatest needs are, she said socks and underwear. At the same time, the people I work with started asking about the trade water-for-cost, and a group of co-workers partnered with me to adopt the kindergarten classroom. So we had our first wish list. Socks and underwear. It was a rough and slow start for our little program, and I bet the school was wondering if I was sincere or not because it took a long time to send the first box of goodies.

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We have been able to watch for sales, and slip items on our grocery lists, and as moms and co-workers pull together...

• socks and underwear
• hat-mittens-scarf sets
• long sleeve and short sleeve shirts
• classroom spare girl and boy outfits that every kindergarten teacher needs
• books
• small holiday gifts

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Then we got a little more organized!

• We found a small daycare that was willing to adopt the 1st grade class!
• Now we have monthly themes. OO LA LA!
• We have a drop off box for people to add their contributions.
• We collect all month, and ship off (in theory--this is still the hardest part) in the first week of the next month.
• We don't know what we are doing, (LOL), so we really count on the school to give input for our themes.

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Here our the monthly themes so far for 2009:

• January--health and wellness--collected tissue boxes, hand sanitizer, and cleaning wipes
• February--love for reading--collected scrap booking paper to make a 12x12 poster template for every child to use for creative writing, and of course collecting books
• March--preparing for April showers--collecting small umbrellas and rain ponchos
• April--healthy smiles--collecting toothbrushes and toothpaste

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Here's why its working out pretty good so far:

• People love children
• Americans have always shared with their neighbors
• Each group that adopts a classroom has at least 15 adult participants so each person can just give a little and still overwhelmingly meet needs and make a difference
• The school is involved by first and foremost protecting the privacy of their students, and rightfully so! And,
• Secondly, guide us to what would best help the students according to our abilities to give--no wasted dollars being spent!

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Here's my dream:

• Meet and network with people that can share some of their extra
• Keep the concept simple so its achievable!
• Start 2009-2010 with every classroom adopted from Pre-K to 5th grade
• Visit the community in person
• Help meet needs
• Sew one hat/scarf/mitten set for every child to have next school year

See my wish list for more information...

Again, thank you for stopping by! -Missy