Tricia Tarantino of South Florida is a third grade teacher at the Sabal Palm elementary school. For her project in the SELP program, Tarantino led her class to raise money for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. The Collier County Public School district wrote about the event.
Sabal Palm Elementary Operation Inspiration Update
Recently we told you about a special project that Tricia Tarantino’s 3rd grade class at Sabal Palm Elementary School had decided would be a great fundraising venture. That project was called “Operation Inspiration: A Start from the Heart.” The purpose was to raise money for the “Buy a Brick” program at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Miami. The class set a goal to raise $1,000 by Wednesday, December 3, and to date they’ve raised more than $800! If the goal is reached, they’ll have enough money to purchase a “Grand Slam” commemorative brick. When purchased, the gift contributes to the mission of the hospital – to meet children’s growing healthcare needs and provide them a better, happier tomorrow.
The class decided on three fundraising events to reach their goal: selling heart and baseball lollipops at the school’s Fall Fun Festival, selling popcorn during lunch, and finally, placing donation jars throughout the school. Despite teh success of these activities, students know they’re still short of their goal. As a result, they’ve been getting other classes and other schools involved.
There’s a student from another 3rd grade class that comes into Tarantino’s class almost every day and donates, while another student brought in $6.50 in pennies. Additionally, every year the school has a Vocabulary Hat Parade; but this year, Principal Tammy Brown and Assistant Principal Joy Alvarez decided to create “Hat Heart Day.” On that day students were allowed to wear their favorite hat and jeans for $1 and staff could do the same for $2. This event helped raise $300. Finally, Tarantino along with four of her students appeared on Cypress Palm Middle School’s morning news to inform their school of the project. In the middle of the newscast, Plant Operator Ivan Magana contributed $10. A donation jar is now in place at Cypress Palm in the media center.