Photo By Michael AlexanderAtlanta
OLA Second-Graders Raise $1,051 For Heifer Project
Published April 12, 2012
The second-grade classes at Our Lady of the Assumption School presented Heifer International president Pierre U. Ferrari with a check in the amount of $1,051 when he visited the Atlanta school March 26.
Back in February second-grade teacher Teri Camp read “Beatrice’s Goat” to her class to start a discussion on problem solving. “Beatrice’s Goat” is a book about a 9-year-old girl who lives in Africa and wants to go to school; however, her family is extremely poor and cannot afford to send her. Beatrice receives the gift of a goat from Heifer International and quickly figures out that she can earn money to help her family by selling milk from the goat. She raises enough money so her parents are able to send her to school and buy her the necessary uniforms.
The chart indicates how the second graders at Our Lady of the Assumption School, Atlanta, surpassed their original goal of $120 by raising over $1,000 for Heifer International. Photo By Michael Alexander
Camp’s class became so inspired by the story that they wanted to raise enough money to buy a goat through Heifer International to help another little girl like Beatrice. It was never Camp’s intent to raise money for a goat, but she knew that it could be a wonderful opportunity to teach her class another vital lesson: the importance of helping those who are in need.
After a one-month deadline was set, her students set out to do jobs around their homes to earn the money. By the end of the first week they had already raised $120, enough money to purchase a goat for a family in need. They did not stop there, and by the end of the third week, they had raised enough to purchase their new goal, a cow, for $500. At the end of the fourth week they had raised over $700, which gave them enough money to purchase a goat and a cow.
Even after the deadline, the students continued to earn money for the cause, and when the day of Ferrari’s arrival came they had gone more than 700 percent over their original goal. Parents were also on hand for the presentation, which was followed by a program on Heifer International and a cookies and punch reception.
Heifer International was started in the 1940s to provide animals to poor families that would not only give the family nourishment but something to sustain them economically and later to give to their neighbors in years ahead when their animals produced offspring.