Students from Mattie McCullough Elementary School have been fundraising for international development projects since 2014 as a class initiative to live as global citizens. Partnering with A Better World Canada (ABW), the students and their homeroom teachers—Neil Julian, Lesley Glubis, and Miranda Mireau—have done an annual fundraiser of selling cupcakes. The proceeds go towards a project that the entire class decides on. This year, the class broke their own fundraising record by raising $628. “That’s a lot of cupcakes!” said Mr. Julian.
The students are currently deciding between a school garden project and a clean water project. After seeing a photo of two different samples of drinking water from a community in Ndanai, Kenya, many of the students showed high interest in putting the money towards clean water for their fellow students across the globe.
“The students love learning about how other kids from around the world live. What others do for fun in different countries, learning sayings in other languages and exploring different objects and articles are always highlights for our Grade 3 students,” said Julian. Over the past four years, the students have raised over $1,600 for ABW projects in Bolivia and Kenya, from solar lights to water wells.
“Talking with the students at Mattie McCullough is always the highlight of my week,” said ABW Communications Specialist Jacqui McCarty. “It’s amazing to hear their ideas and insights. It’s so inspiring to see such young ‘global citizens’ with so much passion to help people.”
-Submitted by A Better World Canada
