Twos Fairy Project
This project started when my sister-in-law showed me an article in The Tennessean by Keith Sharon. It told a story about someone leaving $2 around the Belmont area to brighten someone's day. Keith was inspired to hide his own and shared that in the article, as well. It was totally up my ally, and I knew that I had to do it as a class project. When I told the kids about it, they were excited! However, we wanted to put our own spin on it. We decided to write a note, put it in a bag with $5, attach a piece of candy to catch someone’s eye, and hide them around town where we thought it might make a difference. The note read: “If this money helps you, please use it. However, if you would like to pass it along, feel free to do that. Our hope is that someone who needs a pick-me-up is the receiver. Please email our teacher and let us know what your experience was. We hope this brings you joy and puts a smile on your face”.
The bags were chosen based on a video pitch and students' votes. I teach English and one of the units is argument writing, so we incorporated it into our lesson. Since I was using my own money, I decided to start with six bags. So, I asked each student to do a two-minute video explaining where they would want to put a bag and why. The why was the important part. They were to think of a place where $5 might help someone. Their goal was to convince the other students to vote for their chosen location. We watched Super Bowl commercial ads for tips on how to make a persuasive pitch. Then, each student recorded a video and the whole class voted. Based on the vote, the winning six were selected.
The bags were placed around town. Two went to hospitals, two to animal rescue centers and the others went to a homeless shelter and a church where they do "Room at the Inn". We had three people email us that they had found a bag! It was VERY exciting! We heard from a college student walking his dog, and the dog found one. He needed a pick me up and the $5 helped him that day, and he sent a picture of himself with his dog and a sweet video. Then, the Humane Society found theirs and are using the money to help animals. They were so impressed with us that they invited us to do a field trip in the future. Finally, a minister at the Hillsboro Church of Christ found one. That baggie played an important role in this story. Watch this video to see how it unfolded!
The Kelly Clarkson Show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUaON2JnGoQ
Here is the link to the article that Keith Sharon wrote about us. (This was the first story on my class.)
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2022/02/15/nashville-6th-graders-hide-money-hopes-those-who-need-find-it/6742936001/
Here is the link to the latest article in The Tennessean.
Kelly Clarkson gives Nashville teacher $10,000 for Ukranian refugees (tennessean.com)
Here is the link of the News Channel 5 segment. (Because of the article in the newspaper, Forrest Sanders did a piece on my class.)
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/sixth-grade-class-hides-money-around-city-to-pay-it-forward
Here is the link to the initial article by Keith Sharon that inspired my Twos Fairy project.
www.tennessean.com/story/news/2021/12/14/type-set-twos-fairy-hides-two-dollar-bills-for-fun-surprises/6415300001/
Here is a podcast that I was interviewed for this past summer.
open.spotify.com/episode/1c2gYSGJLDLf9eW7KFvJgh?si=HtBXNudESVW3urRyUqmWFw
I have been very humbled by this attention, but I am so happy that my students have seen how far a good deed can travel and what an impact it can make! :)
I have always believed in giving back, and I am blessed to share that with my students.
Kindness matters,
Ms. Shaffer
