Avondale School District students collect water to help Flint pets

“A lot of people are helping the people in Flint because of the water problem,” began Woodland Elementary fifth-grader Sajal Pearson, “our class decided to do something for the pets that live there. Pets need clean water too and we were worried that people weren’t thinking to help them.”

Sajal and classmates Haiden Zellers, Alvina Zaitona and Garrett Brinker are just a few of the students at Woodland Elementary in the Avondale School District who led a drive aimed at collecting water for pets living in Flint, Michigan. “Everyone in our fifth-grade classes helped,” explained Alvina. “There were five committees, Public Relations, Collection, Advertising, Delivery and Recording which counted and kept track of the water that was brought in. We kept track of which class brought in the most bottles and jugs but it wasn’t really a competition; we wanted people to bring in water to help – not to win a competition.”

The students called the collection drive “Water Cause for Paws” and broke into the five groups to advertise, promote, collect and record the donations. The Public Relations committee created a PowerPoint using information gleaned from a class discussion led by one of their teachers, Laura Phou. Phou, who has been with Avondale School District for more than 15 years, helped the students frame their idea into a presentation appropriate for Kindergarteners through fifth-graders. When the presentation was ready, the committee visited each classroom to explain their mission. Students on the Advertising committee wrote an article for the school newsletter, made posters, decorated water jugs to look like cats and dogs, and made morning announcements.

The Recording committee went to work counting the donations and calculating a running total in gallons. “Everything worked really well - all the kids were talking about it and bringing in water,” said Garrett. “We ended up collecting almost 200 gallons!”

In addition to the obvious benefits for pets living in Flint, Woodland Elementary Principal Arryn Schneider liked the water drive for the educational benefits to the fifth-graders, describing it as a “great opportunity for project-based learning and collaboration as well as a chance for students to use writing, math and communication skills.”

“Mostly though,” she added “it was a chance for the students to use their skills to help solve a problem that meant something to them.”

The water will be delivered this week to the Michigan Humane Society in Burton, Michigan.