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 totallyup 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 towrite a note, put it in a bagwith $5, attach a piece ofcandytocatchsomeone’s eye, andhide 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 todo a two-minute video explainingwhere 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 watchedSuper Bowlcommercial 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 acollegestudent walking his dog, and the dog found one. He neededa pick me upandthe$5 helped him that day, and he sent a picture of himself with his dog and a sweet video. Then, the HumaneSociety foundtheirsandareusing the money to help animals. They were so impressedwith usthat they invited us todoa field tripin 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!
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.