Help my kids become heroes!

Student 1: Ako magdadala ng sabaw ng buko.
Student 2: Ako siguro ito na lang baon ko.
Student 3: Ako noodles!
Student 1: Mayaman ka?
Student 3: eh kunwari nga pwede eh!

– My students daydreaming about helping Yolanda victims during recess time

A few days after Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines, I overheard my students wishing they could also help the victims of the storm. I was moved by their desire to help others and also felt a little heartbroken because they felt like they couldn’t help because of their own financial limitations. During the past few weeks, I’ve witnessed small acts of kindness among my students – kids writing their wishes for other kids, two students returning a lost wallet, my student surprising her classmate with a birthday cupcake (complete with a candle 🙂 ) during recess, and many more.

This week, we started our Bayani (Hero) theme in the classroom in relation to Andres Bonifacio’s 150th birthday. As a class, we’ve identified how one can become a hero in small ways – lining up properly, telling the truth, treating others with respect, and the list goes on.

The other day, two of my students came up to me and told me about a wallet and ID they found on the floor. They happily reported that they returned the items to a teacher. It was quite endearing to hear them tell the story with pride and joy. I knew they felt proud of what they did. And it was in that moment that I decided that we should push through with this class project: Shoebox Love.

My students and I will be giving away ten shoe boxes and we are crossing our fingers that these will be given to children. They decided that the special items they would like to include are storybooks that they think will make other children happy and some school supplies to help them get back to school.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP!

Since my students cannot afford the items inside the shoebox, we need ten willing sponsors! My kids have identified the book titles they want to send and the simple school supplies they want to share. We will be decorating the boxes on December 6, Friday.

If you’re a willing sponsor, please send me an email (cris_tanjutco@yahoo.com) or a message in my blog and I’ll give you the contents needed for one box. Apart from helping typhoon victims, you will be giving my students a chance to experience doing something kind for others. They will learn what it’s like to be part of a cause and what it’s like to be part of a helping community. They need to have more stories and experiences that they will be proud to share with others.

Thank you and let’s spread the love! 🙂 Help my kids become heroes!