My $20 Challenge: Year One Results

What started as a way to honor my sister Katie, my $20 challenge has grown into something even more.

Over the course of this school year, my 47 students spent $940 spreading kindness and helping others.

They donated to some amazing organizations, fed the hungry, put their craftiness to good use, and even used their $20 to simply bring some joy or fun to others.

But most importantly, they learned the importance of human connection and how easy it is to be kind.

I am so proud of my ninth graders this semester. They went beyond my expectations and I am in awe of their maturity. They have impacted so many people through their actions and have inspired others to pay it forward.

I hope you enjoy their reflections on this project as much as I did. 14 years in and I continue to learn from my "kids" every day.

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$940 went to:

• Several free meals and drinks to strangers to brighten their days

• A donation to the school library to pay off outstanding library fines

• Sanitary products for a women's shelter

• A donation to the Girl Scouts who were selling cookies

• A gift card to give to a family friend who was about to have a third child

• A donation to the American Cancer Society

• 20 dinners for Meals on Wheels

• Supplies for an animal shelter

• Dance supplies to Traveling Tutus, an organization that provides dance attire to children all over the world

• Jared boxes for kids in the hospital

• A donation to the Devereux Foundation

• Flags on veterans graves at Whitemarsh Memorial Park Cemetery for Memorial Day

• A donation to THON, an student-run organization that raises money for kids with cancer

• A donation to For Pete’s Sake, an organization that provides respite for those battling cancer

• Care packages for the troops

• Handmade blankets for animals in an animal shelter

• A donation to the World Wildlife Fund

• Handmade contracture carrots for stroke patients at a nursing home

• New clothes for the nurse's office for students who need extra outfits after having accidents

• Free rides to strangers at a local fair

• Groceries donated to a food bank

• Homemade cookies baked and delivered to the local volunteer fire department

• Cakes given to the local fire station and police station

• $20 tips left for waitresses

• A donation to Fox Chase Cancer Center

• A donation to LIDÈ Haiti, Rainn Wilson’s organization, to provide writing materials for a girl in Haiti

• Free donuts to strangers walking by

• A donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation

• New school supplies for Simmons Elementary School

• Free food at Dunkin’ Donuts for anyone who cannot afford their meal

• A donation to an infant diagnosed with cancer

• A donation to a local soup kitchen

• Spools of thread given Pennsbury Manor’s historic sewing program

• Handmade pillowcases made for Ryan's Case for Smiles (formerly ConKeer Cancer), an organization that provides fun pillowcases to kids going through chemo

• A donation to a friend whose father had just passed away and needed money for immediate expenses

• Handmade crocheted NICU baby hats for newborns with heart conditions donated to the American Heart Association's Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign

VIDEO REFLECTIONS

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