Four Washington Discovery Academy first graders explained their Shoe Drive project to the Plymouth School Board on Tuesday night. Chloe Krupp, Xander Binfet, Gracie Helmke, and Kyndall Marcum said the goal of the project is to help a family here in the United States to adopt a young girl from China. For every pound of shoes collected the family receives $1 towards the fees connected with the adoption process. So far, the class has gotten 400 pairs of shoes. They are continuing the efforts to have 10,000 pounds.
Shoes of any kind can be donated including boots, heels, flip-flops, kids, cleats, tennis shoes, etch. In any condition. The shoes will then be cleaned, repaired, and sent to developing nations for distribution. The school is working with the organization, Funds2Orgs, that strives to teach elementary students the importance of giving back.
WDA Principal, Jeff Spencer said, “ We want students to solve real world problems.” There is a collection box at the school and donations will be accepted until the end of the month.
The children presenting and representing the entire first grades are students of teachers Jennifer Knebel, Angelina Lazovich, Katherine Straub, and Kayla Vanlue. Knebel introduced the project after she saw a request for donations from a former high school classmate.
Partnering with WDA students are students from Model Elementary in Goshen. Teachers from Model were observing the project-based classrooms at WDA and decided to help with the drive. As of this week, the Goshen school had collected 300 pairs.
