When Mr. Terry Bland’s sixth-grade class at Envision Science Academy in Wake Forest was asked to research the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the goal of Zero Hunger stood out to them. The students focused on the goal of reducing the population of people who suffer from hunger around the world from 690 million to none and concentrated their efforts on food insecurity in North Carolina.
It started with a small group of four students who organized a GoFundMe campaign with a steep $500 goal—which they exceeded by $100 in just a matter of days, due to their thoughtful planning and determination. All funds raised were donated towards fighting food insecurity through programming of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
After the first project, students were tasked with creating a second project, and again the focus was Zero Hunger. Matt Robinson, Chairman of the Food Shuttle’s Board of Directors and a class parent, spoke with the students about the work of the Food Shuttle in reaching that goal in central North Carolina.
“The kids did a fantastic job and really got into it. They supported their ideas in great detail and you can tell they put some serious thought into how they would achieve their ends,” Matt said about the interaction.
After the talk, the class of students realized that, as small groups, they were all thinking along the same lines of organizing canned food drives, organizing a 5K run in conjunction with the food drive, and holding an online giving campaign. As they shared ideas, they began to recognize that they could have a greater impact as one large group. Ultimately, the kids came together to organize a large food drive with the proceeds to be donated to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
The students got the green light from the school administration to go ahead and are holding their canned food drive for two weeks in April. On the final day, any upper school students and parents who donated can join in a student-organized fun run around the trails near the school. Another group is preparing a raffle, where each item donated earns one ticket into the raffle.
Mr. Bland said of his students’ efforts, "The project was completely led by the students. So, for them to identify a need in the community and work together on solutions has been really empowering for them. They can see that their ideas and voices are valued and that they are making a real, positive impact in the community."
One of the students put it a little more simply: "This project means the world to me. This project helped me get closer to my fellow peers and it gave me a chance to help the community at the same time."
Proof, once again, that one is never too young to change the world!
