unicef

On Friday I picked Jordan up from school and she announced that she had an assembly that day. I asked her what the assembly was about.

"School in a box," she replied.

"What's a school in a box?" I asked.

"We get money and stuff and put the school in a box."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"For kids! And we send the school in a box to Australia."

"Um, do you mean Operate Christmas Child, where we get a shoe box and fill it full of school supplies for a needy child somewhere?"

"Nope. Mommy," she said, a little exasperated because I wasn't catching on, being that this was all so obvious. "We get a school in a box and we send it to Australia."

"Do you have a paper for me to read about this?" I asked, hoping that this was going to become more obvious once I got home.

"Yep."

I thought about it for a minute - what else besides Operation Christmas Child would require kids to send something somewhere for other kids?

"Jordan, are you talking about Unicef?"

"Yeah!"

Whew. Look at me go.

At school the kids had an assembly to talk about Unicef. Remember when we used to get the little orange boxes to take with us on Halloween to try and raise money? They don't do the boxes anymore, but Unicef is still going strong.

Believe it or not, there is actually a school in a box. There are different levels of fundraising goals, and different things that people can donate toward.
  • $10 buys pencils and books (I think for one kid)
  • $32 buys a soccer ball and pump for a classroom
  • $86 buys a bicycle for a child to him him/her get to school every day
  • $240 buys enough school supplies to completely supply two classrooms with all the books, etc. that they need
  • $1940 buys a school tent - a place to house school when there are no buildings to do it in.
Jordan came home on Friday really eager to help kids by sending a school in a box. We talked about it some more and I told her that she could fund raise and try to earn the money to reach that level. So far she's up to about $75.

People ask her if she can earn prizes. I don't think there are prizes for dollar amounts (as in other fund raising events, like Jump Rope for Heart), although by starting up a fundraising page I think she gets entered in a draw for a prize at the end.

The awesome thing? That she came home excited about the school in a box, and not about any prizes. She really likes the idea of helping kids in a poor country go to school. Makes my Mommy Pride levels soar!

The other day she asked me why everyone in the world couldn't just each give a dollar - then wouldn't there be lots of money? I love her thinking, and I love that she cares.

If anyone is interested in sponsoring Jordan's fundraising efforts (and she actually has been asking people!), her fundraising page is HERE!

The money this year is going to support kids in Madagascar, Africa (not Australia).

Comments

Sonya said…
That's awesome! I love it when kids get excited about helping others. Go Jorden go!
Stephanie said…
Go Jordan!! That is great that she is excited about helping others : )

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