Fundraising with a Creative Spirit

The students of the Berkeley Montessori School in Berkeley, California heard about Amman Imman: Water is Life and the Montessori Wells of Love project at the Global Citizenship Action Conference (GCAP) held in New York City in October, 2007. It was there that Ariane Kirtley spoke to the conference attendees about what life is like for the people of the Azawak who live for at least 9 months of the year without any viable sources of water.

Ariane’s offer to the young activists attending the conference - to help development organization Amman Imman: Water is Life build a borehole in the Azawak and begin to bring relief to the half million people who reside there - inspired students at several schools to initiate fundraising and awareness projects to contribute and support Amman Imman.

The students at Berkeley Montessori planned a series of fundraisers for their school, intending to raise awareness about the plight of these people that the rest of the world seems to be forgetting about.

Back in Feburary, the students organized an event that not only raised money toward a Well of Love in the Azawak and informed their community about how people in the Azawak survive without water, but also engaged their own creative spirit.

The students performed five one-act plays, selected after a classroom drama unit: "It's Not You" by Craig Pospisil, "Balcony Scene" by Donald Elser, "The Ugly Duckling" by A.A. Milne, "Arabian Nights" by David Ives, and "Sorry, Wrong Number" by Lucille Fletcher.

Referring to the blog and the resources listed there, they wrote an informative essay that became the event’s playbill. They structured a presentation about Amman Imman and the Azawak during the intermission. Over 100 audience members – from six years old to alumni students to parents – heard about the plight of the people in the Azawak due to lack of water. All were fully entertained while also learning how they could help relieve their suffering through Amman Imman’s project of building boreholes. The event raised $800 for the project.

In April, the students held a 2nd dramatic-art production fundraiser at their annual class play. This year they performed an original adaptation of "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland" on four stages scattered around the campus. 32 actors and 4 musicians also performed five songs taken from the British Invasion and the Summer of Love. Proceeds from boxed dinner sales were also donated to Amman Imman, raising just under $1200 across two nights.

Thank You,
Students of Berkeley Montessori.
You are truly our Heroes of Compassion!

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Like to talk to AI? Well, we would love to hear from you!

Real Time Analytics