HILLEL DAY SCHOOL STUDENTS BECOME SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:

Sixth Graders Raise Money to Bring Clean Water to Ugandan Children 

Sixth grade students from Hillel Day School have embarked on the “Clean Water Flow is More Important than You Know” campaign, an entrepreneurial venture to raise money to bring clean water to children at a school in Abayudaya, an isolated Jewish Community in Eastern Uganda.

 “Our students want to raise awareness of the lack of clean water in many parts of the developing world, and teachers in all disciplines have been incorporating the issue into their lesson plans – including testing the cleanliness of water in science experiments and calculating water usage in graphing in mathematics,” said Lauren Sterling, Hillel Day School grade 6 Language Arts and Social Studies teacher.

Students were encouraged to create a campaign to raise money that would call upon their skills in mathematics, marketing and business, as well as their commitment to living the Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the  world) and kol arevim zeh lazeh (all Jews being responsible for one another). 

With a little help from Kulanu, an organization already supporting the people of Abayudaya, the students identified the need for clean drinking water in this isolated Jewish Community. Motivated to help  raise the money necessary to replace a contaminated water tank in an elementary school, the students embarked on their journey to “socialpreneurship”.

The Hillel sixth graders designed water bottles with a special logo that will go on sale at the school on Thursday, January 31, 2013.  As part of their campaign, students recommended vendors, selected a slogan, voted on a design, negotiated pricing, and determined a sale price in an effort to send $1,000 to Abayudaya. The water bottles will retail for $12. Other sale sites, including local synagogues, are being solicited. 

The Jews of Abayudaya number approximately 1,500 people; Jewish rituals are practiced including keeping Kosher and observing Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. The school that will benefit from the sale of the water bottles educates nearly 800 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim students from eastern Uganda.

“I was impressed with the interdisciplinary curriculum and how well the children were prepared for our meeting,” said Harriet Bograd, president of New York-based Kulanu. “They had such bright eyes and enthusiasm,” she said. “They have given me hope that the school children will have clean water next term.”

Kulanu, Inc. (Hebrew for “all of us”) is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization based in New York City. Kulanu works around the world to support isolated and emerging Jewish communities who wish to learn more about Judaism and (re-)connect with the wider Jewish community. For more information, visit www.kulanu.org.

Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit is an independent early childhood through 8th grade Community Jewish Day School located in Farmington Hills. Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit is accredited by ISACS (Independent School Association of Central States) and a member of the community day school organization, RAVSAK, NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) and ISM (Independent School Management). For more than 50 years, Hillel has provided a dual curriculum of highly competitive general studies academics along with Hebrew and Judaic studies.

At Hillel, we inspire a passion for learning, responsibility to self and community, and devotion to Jewish living in a warm and engaging environment.

For more information visit http://www.hillelday.org.