Source: Coronado Unified School District
Ellie King and Eden Breitenbach-Enevoldson, students in Annette Tickner’s fifth grade class at Village Elementary School, had no idea their Literacy Mission Project would be quite as successful as it turned out. As part of a learning-service project, the class was given an assignment to develop a creative but realistic project that would make a positive impact in the community and change the future.
Tickner said the projects the students came up with “ranged from cleaning oceans, land, air, and space, to informing peers about depression and available resources to envisioning entertainment rooms for kids facing long hospital stays.”
Ellie and Eden are classmates who paired up for the assignment. They are also friends, and both are avid readers who love to spend their free time with books. They decided they wanted to collect books for less fortunate children and began their project with a vision “to make sure that every child, no matter their circumstances, had the opportunity to learn and read and enjoy books.”
The girls sent an email to every teacher at school explaining what they were doing and asking them to share the information with their classes. They also created posters, flyers, and drop-off boxes encouraging their fellow students to donate books.
“We really couldn’t believe how many books we got… 860! We could barely get them home to my garage,” declared Ellie. “It was actually the third graders that gave by far the most books,” shared Eden.
The girls also needed to determine where to donate the collected books. After conducting extensive research they identified the best charity for their donations as Father Joe’s Village. They were impressed with all the services the organization provides and the long history of success. “They were established in 1950 and have been doing great things,” said Ellie.
“Eden and Ellie brought their idea to fruition completely on their own – even making the phone calls to determine how and when to donate their books,” said Tickner.
“I’m actually really glad I was involved in this beautiful project, it feels good,” shared Eden. “This turned out much better than we ever expected. My Dad helped us sort the books and deliver them to Father Joe’s. It was a big project,” Ellie reflected.
Both girls collaborated on the summary statement they presented on their project board, “We liked how we got to work with our school community to make an impact on our larger San Diego community. We hope that by donating these books more children will be able to learn to read and love books as much as we do. We felt so much joy knowing that kids like us could make a positive difference in our community.”
“I am inspired and awestruck by the ingenuity, passion, and persistence of each one of our learners,” said Tickner of the projects turned in by her fifth graders. The projects were on display for families to see during the recent Open House at Village Elementary.
Source: Coronado Unified School District
