The Grade 4/5 students at Cottingham Junior Public School were provided with an opportunity to support a food bank in their community while gaining real-world, cross-curricular, experiential knowledge and learning.
Avenue Road Food Bank (ARFB), which is less than a 10-minute walk away from the school, opened its doors every Wednesday to Grade 4/5 student volunteers. Student volunteers signed up to help sort food and learn about the ever-growing needs due to food insecurity. Volunteers returned to class and shared what they learned with their classmates.
The children were inspired to do more than volunteer once a week, and they learned that the food bank needed reusable bags and egg cartons, they designed awareness posters and created an interactive display for the school, pictured below. As a result of this campaign, hundreds of bags and egg cartons were delivered to ARFB.
![Display of reusable bags and egg cartons students collected in school hallway.](/Portals/0/images/News/LatestNews/01-Display.jpg)
After learning about the 250% increase in food bank customers, the Grade 4/5s decided to host a Student Fair Fundraiser to raise funds to support AFRB. After conducting a school census survey, students determined the following top ten products that students were interested in buying: baked goods, bracelets, claw machine with prizes, drinks, lollipops, mini store, Pokémon trading cards, popsicles, sports trading cards, and snacks. Pictured below, students analyzing data from their census.
![Group of students in a classroom reviewing results from student census laid out on sheet papers.](/Portals/0/images/News/LatestNews/05-StudentCensus.jpg)
Students attended workshops geared to helping the children learn how to create a business / marketing plan, and learned creating a business plan includes:
- Determining your target audience
- Setting a cost/profit margin/revenue;
- Developing an advertising proposal;
- Creating promotions (e.g., two-for-one deals; gift for first 5 customers, etc.) - see an example of one groups promotions below!
- Finalizing an outline of how they plan on display product
Students presented their business plans in a “Dragon’s Den” style to a panel of advisors who worked in the field of finance, marketing, and business, pictured below. Following receiving feedback, students made, sourced, and packaged products before hosting a preview of the Student Fair products for their classmates.
![Students stand at the front of a classroom and present to a panel of adult business advisors.](/Portals/0/images/News/LatestNews/02-Presentation.jpg)
The Student Fair was an awesome success with the Grade 4/5s raising $3,216 for ARFB! Below are photos from some of the booths at the Fundraiser.
![Three students at a table selling bracelets for student fundraiser.](/Portals/0/images/News/LatestNews/04-Fundraiser.jpg)
![Three students at a table selling lollipops for student fundraiser.](/Portals/0/images/News/LatestNews/03-Fundraiser.jpg)
Avenue Road Food Bank representatives also attended to show their support and presented the Grade 4/5s with certificates of acknowledgement, seen below.
![Students stand in front of Cottingham Public School with certificates of acknowledgement presented from Avenue Road Food Bank.](/Portals/0/images/News/LatestNews/06-Certificates.jpg)
During this outreach project, the children learned that they could make a difference in the community. They exercised several skills – creative thinking, critical thinking, research, oral communication, collaboration, organization, and much more. The Grade 4/5s learned Language and Mathematics curriculum expectations through real-world issues.
While the project was led by the Grade 4/5s, it encouraged participation from everyone in the school community, and provided an opportunity for student leadership and community involvement. This resulted in the following wonderful contributions to the Fundraiser:
- A Grade 5/6 class crocheted frogs which resulted in a revenue of over $200.
- A Grade 3 student made plastic ornaments out of melted beads as a donation.
- An SK student hand-picked his best Pokémon and sports cards and donated them to the cause.
- The Physical Education teacher made pom pom headbands in Cottingham’s theme colours.
- All Grade 4/5 parents donated the products that their children sold at the Student Fair.
Despite the project spanning many months which involved long hours of hard work, the Grade 4/5s unanimously agreed that it was an enriching and rewarding experience. The common question among the students was: can we do this again every year?
The students continue to be eager to make a difference, and their determination is truly inspiring. Way to go Cottingham students!
![An adult Food Bank volunteer and two students stand behind bags of food donations being presented to Avenue Road Food Bank.](/Portals/0/images/News/LatestNews/07-Donations.jpg)