Project Second Wind

Every year, MLC participates in a competitive district-wide food drive for the Oregon Food Bank called Project Second Wind. Since MLC has a very hands-on, community-oriented philosophy of education, our entire school population is encouraged to participate in the project. To get everyone involved, we often hold a friendly competition within the school itself. The teams compete against each other--kindergarten through third grade, fourth through sixth grades, seventh and eighth grades, and the high school. We post a chart that shows the competition as a horse race. Each team has a paper unicorn that advances every day so that the entire school can see each team’s progress. This simple approach generates excitement among students who might otherwise be less than enthusiastic about the drive.

Student volunteers (including both of us authors) make announcements to classrooms in anticipation of the week-long drive, to raise awareness and to generate enthusiasm. We distribute boxes, recruit volunteers, answer questions, and go around to classrooms with a jar, asking for spare change. We explain to kindergartners how their donations are going to feed children in their community--maybe even their classmates or neighborhood friends. Even the more cynical teenagers are inspired by the good example set by one tiny six-year-old asking to help. At the end of every year so far, our school--which is far from the wealthiest or the largest in the district--has won the district trophy.

In the end, though, it is never about the trophy. The most obvious proof of what we really accomplish each year is in the acts of the kindergartner handing us a bag full of pennies and of the third grader asking if she could donate her ice cream to the food bank. Although we do not get to meet the families who receive the donations, we can catch glimpses of the good they are doing in the faces of the students at MLC. It is the most rewarding part of the entire process. Because of Project Second Wind, we get a chance to make a difference not only in the lives of the families in need of food, but also in the social awareness of MLC's own students.