dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
We have enjoyed working on this project and developing our memoirs. For us, it was as much about the experience of completing a service project as sharing our memories through writing. Read below about the day we found our inspiration--and enjoy the student papers about their experiences, either with the class project or one of their own.

Student Papers: **Penny Wars: Battle Royale** Miss Davis  “Oh my gosh,” Kristin cut in. She sat up in her chair and leaned forward. “One of my dance students just found out she has leukemia. She is five years old and so cute. I’m sure we could do something for her!”

“Yeah?” I could feel my eyebrows rise. Curious about this opportunity, I was also a little wary about the feasibility. Could this work? But it was clear from looking around—I wasn’t the only one feeling a tug at my heartstrings for this little girl sitting in a hospital bed up in Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital. Kristin had provided the spark. Everyone leaned in closer, throwing out ideas of how to help this family.

“Let’s raise money for them!” one called out.

“What’s the best way to do that?” I asked. Before we knew if, the Penny War was established. But the ideas didn’t stop there.

“Our house on the lake is up in Cincinnati,” Kait chimed in. “They could totally use it.”

“Your parents won’t mind?” I queried.

“No, they won’t mind. I’ll double check, but I’m sure my mom will be okay with it.”

“Oh, yeah, and my stepdad is the manager at Fazoli’s. We can ask him to put out a donation jar there. Or maybe we can have a fundraiser night there or something,” Sarah offered. As I looked around and listened to the continued offers of support, I realized my students were really engaged. I could feel adrenaline start running through my veins as this potential flop morphed into potential success—a genuine project that we were going to do, not as a individuals, but as a class to help someone out. The ideas kept coming.

“I work at Gattitown, and I can probably get some huge containers from there for money. I can ask about putting a jar out there, too,” Julia chimed in. “And I can bring in posterboard and markers,” said Sammy. “I can check with Asbury and see if my RD will let us put jars out in the dorm,” added Miss Baker, my student teacher. Since time was running out, we decided that we could get started the very next class. Kait had already offered to bring in puppy chow chex mix to snack on, and since we needed jars for money, Sarah and I agreed to bring in Sobes and Starbucks frappucinos to drink and clean for our money-collection purposes. It would be a regular party.

I was sure that the girls were on board, but what about the boys? “What do you think, Gary?” I asked as the students moved to leave. H e gave me his typical shrug that indicated he was okay with the idea. “Great! Luis, what about you?”

“I’m going to do my own project,” he informed me, dragging his binder along the desktop.  “Yeah?” I was a little taken aback, even a bit disappointed. “Are you going to do something for your mom after all?”

“No.” Surprised again. Knowing he was not one to be forthcoming with information, I prodded him to explain. “I just found out about a little boy on my street who thinks I’m a pretty good soccer player. He loves soccer, but he doesn’t play on a team or nothing. Since I know all of the coaches, I’m going to get him on a soccer team.” He looked sure and confident of his idea, and I, frankly, was flabbergasted.

“That’s awesome, Luis! That is so cool. You know, he’d probably love it if you just kicked the ball around with him for a bit.” Luis chuckled, humble. “Yeah, maybe,” he said, heading out the door.

The classroom was now empty, the tables still pushed together in conference mode. Wow. My heart was about to explode with pride. This was going to be so much better than I had hoped. “Can you believe it?” I asked Miss Baker, still in shock as we walked into the barney-purple hallway for duty. I felt grateful to her for her encouragement to make the project about a current service activity, not a simple reflection on something from the past. Once again, my students had proven me wrong—they exceeded my expectations, exploded the limits I thought would confine them to a mediocre task. This project was really going to work.