Fourth Graders’ Choice for Philanthropy

You may recall the Lower School raising money through Penny Harvest. As student Julia Noonan told me,  “Through Penny Harvest the Lower School raised a lot of money.  We donated enough to be one of the schools that choose which organization the money goes to.”  (Actually we raised approximately $700 – which is a lot of pennies!)  Kate Treitman’s fourth grade selected Heifer International after hearing all about its great work.   Julia recalled, “We all read Beatrice’s Goat in Kindergarten which is about a girl who receives a goat from Heifer International and it has a little note from Hillary Clinton in it.”  They chose Heifer over other choices because it helps both animals and people.  “The goats, bees, cows, rabbits and oxen that Heifer provides are not for eating!”  Their new owners can breed them, sell the offspring, keep them, use the milk, and so on.Sadie Stern in Dina Pomeranz’s fourth grade explained that her class also wanted to choose an organization that helped animals.  “The class voted for World Wildlife Fund,” but then had to choose an organization that is more linked up with Penny Harvest.  So with help from Dawn Wheatley they settled on the ASPCA.  Sadie suggested, “Maybe we can dress in orange because that is the ASPCA’s color and maybe we’ll make a big giant check, all hold it, and take a picture.”

Clearly fourth graders are starting to think about their responsibility on a global level, as well as to the local community. What a great choice both classes made, and what an important process they experienced in the choosing.