Students learn value of giving

Fifth-graders at a Moorpark school learned to give back during a ground-breaking educational program designed to teach them about the value of charitable giving.

The pilot project took place at the Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology, in partnership with California Lutheran University's School of Education and the Agoura Hills-based nonprofit organization Charity Checks.

Ten CLU students training to be teachers assisted the magnet school's two fifth-grade teachers as they challenged their young students to research local and international charities and write reports on those that meant the most.

Each of the 55 charities the students picked received a $25 check made out by the student and donated through Charity Checks.

"I am not going to be a person who says, Let someone else do it,' " fifth-grader Leah Daley told students, parents and teachers at an assembly Monday morning.

"I have totally changed my outlook," said Leah, who vowed to grow her hair until it is long enough to cut off 10 inches and donate it to her chosen charity, Locks of Love, which provides wigs and hairpieces to disadvantaged children who lose their hair because of illness or medical treatment.

"When I grow up, maybe I'll open up my own charity to help animals, people and those in need," said student Kyle McNeil, who picked the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Los Angeles as his cause.

During Monday's ceremony, the fifth-graders came on stage to introduce themselves and talk about the charities they had picked.

"Donating to people in need is more important than buying things for yourself," said Chandler Wagner, who said his family experienced a period of homelessness and that's why he wanted to help the Bakersfield Rescue Mission.

Other charities included Toys for Tots, the Humane Society, the American Red Cross, Books for Africa, the Audubon Society of Conejo Valley and the City of Hope.

Jacob DiPietro, 10, of Moorpark picked an animal rescue charity in Pennsylvania to receive a donation. "I found something that I really liked a lot, and 80 percent of their money goes to the animals," he said.

Laurie DiPietro, Jacob's mom, praised the educational aspect of the project.

"It's been exciting watching him go on the Internet and research the papers and learn about charities," she said. "Writing a research paper is really monotonous, and so this puts it to life and then the learning sticks."

At the end of the ceremony, the students lined up to make out their first checks and address them to their chosen charities. A local philanthropist donated $1,500 to cover all the checks.

The project marks the first time CLU worked in partnership with a public school to develop new curricula ideas on the subject of philanthropy.

Lesson plans created by the CLU students will be available as resources to teachers across the country via the Charity Checks Web site, with information about how to incorporate the idea of giving to charities and researching the work of nonprofit groups with existing curricula.

Annie Mathre, 21, a junior at CLU, said working closely with both the fifth-graders and their teachers has been exciting.

"We made sure they had all the right questions they needed to find and ask in the beginning," she said. "We led the first couple of lessons, and the teachers oversaw the writing part of the project."

Fifth-grade teacher Genevieve James said, "I think 90 percent of the kids went above and beyond and put more of themselves into it, rather than just writing another report. It gave them ownership, so when they turned in the assignments, they were turning in something from their heart."

Charity representatives also attended Monday to thank the fifth-graders for their donations. Tim Campbell and Stan Razlaff from the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles accepted a check from student Michael Adachi.

"It's a privilege to be here," Campbell said. "Over a hundred kids every night have a place to stay because you care."

"I'm almost in tears," said Darla Scott from Casa Pacifica, a center for troubled children in Camarillo, after receiving a check from student Valeria Miranda.

Lisa Sonne, co-founder of Charity Checks, said she was "thrilled" with the way the pilot program has turned out.

"I was very touched today hearing some of the kids say they now want to found a charity, or they are going to grow up and become givers, or how it's totally changed their world view of what charity in action means," Sonne said. "You couldn't hope for more than that, because these guys are the future."

On the Net:

http://www.charitychecks.us

--- Published in the Ventura County Star on May 7, 2008