CIS students raise over $1,800 for 14 charities/non-profit organizations through the ‘Pay It Forward’ Project

Corbin Intermediate students are shown above with a check they recently presented to Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter for $429.25. The money was raised during the Pay It Forward Project in which the students raised over $1,800 for local charities and non-profit organizations.

The 6th grade students of Corbin Intermediate School raised over $1,800 for 14 various charities/non-profit organizations, with many being local charities, through their Pay It Forward Project.

The project consisted of the students creating products from recycled materials and then selling their wares. The profits from the sales of their products determined how much money the different charities received. Each student product team had to research and choose a worthy charity/non-profit organization to which to donate their profits.

The Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter was the recipient of the greatest donation amount in the sum of $429.25.

As part of their social studies class, the 6th grade class learned about economics through the Pay It Forward Project.

In past years, this project was known as the Entrepreneurship Fair. Every 6th grade class was broken down into teams of 4-5 students. Then, each team created a product that they would make out of recycled materials.

When deciding on what to make, they conducted market research to see if people would be interested in buying their product. Market surveys were conducted with 5th graders at the school to determine which product to produce.

Based on their results, the students then had to create their product. Some of the manufactured goods were hole punched tin can votive candle holders, bracelets, necklaces, nebulae in a bottle, wreaths, ornaments, bubblegum machines, seeds started in recycled milk cartons, and pop can cameras just to name a few.

Besides creating their product, the students had to determine the pricing and create advertisement to help sell their products. The advertisement mainly consisted of posters that they put up around the school showing what items would be sold. The students sold their products during Museum Night, an evening when relatives of students and members from our community could come and look at the different projects/assignments that their student had made from the previous 9 weeks.

Each team had a booth inside the gym from which they sold their wares. Family members bought “Dog Dough”, which was created by two 6th grade students, Shaylee Taylor and Noelle Napier. This became the currency that was used during the event.

When the teachers were asked about how they felt the event turned out, they stated, “We feel it went extremely well for the first year of doing it. We raised a little over $1,800 in just 1 1/2 hours for different charities. We were all extremely pleased with the outcome. We are so very proud of our students’ hard work and the parents’ support!”

The social studies teachers, Mrs. Kamille Ball, Miss Nerissa Calhoun, and Mrs. Kim Stewart, are planning on doing it again next year.

Of the charities that were able to send a representative to the school, the students participated in a check presentation. Each representative then informed the students of how the money might be used and provided further information about the charity.

The following charities benefited from the Pay It Forward Project: Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter $429.25, American Red Cross $289, Everlasting Arms Homeless Shelter 252.21, Appalachian Wildlife Foundation 128.03, St. Jude $128, Grace on the Hill Food Pantry $113.81, Disabled American Veterans $82, Wounded Warriors Project $60, Christian Appalachian Project $53, Central Baptist Manger Ministry $49.56, American Cancer Society $49, Corbin Public Library 42.68, Habitat for Humanity $33, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass $30.