| January 30, 2012 | to | February 3, 2012 |
Heifer Project: Change for Change, 2012
Watch the herd grow!
Every year since 1998, our school has participated in The Heifer Project. That first year, one classroom collected donations enough to buy a flock of ducks and a hive of bees. Since then, the effort has been school-wide and WSMS has provided funding for the beginnings of many flocks and herds. The last two years, our Heifer fundraising has been set aside to aid victims of both the Haitian and Japanese earthquakes. This year, we return to Heifer.
For those of you who are not familiar with he Heifer Project, Heifer International works to promote peace through ending world hunger. For over 65 years, Heifer has helped more than 8.5 million impoverished families in 128 countries lift themselves out of poverty and achieve self-reliance. Maria Montessori was passionate about a global vision, self-reliance, and peace. Heifer is a perfect philosophical fit.
The idea is simple and it works. Instead of providing hungry families with a non-renewable source of food, Heifer International provides a “living loan “ of an animal. The family’s health and standard of living is greatly improved by what that animal can provide. This might be milk from a cow or goat, eggs from poultry, meat from rabbits, draft power from water buffalo, or wool from Ilamas. Heifer also provides trees that reforest farms and provide fodder and firewood.
Key to success of the program is that Heifer provides extensive training in animal care, ecologically sound agricultural practices and community development. The result is to transform not just families, but the environment and community.
Another cornerstone of Heifer International is “passing on the gift.” Families who receive an animal repay the loan by passing on one or more of the animals’ offspring to other needy families. That family passes on their gift to another family and so on, one gift multiplying through the community.
For more information about the organization, please visit:
https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog?msource=kwga5&gclid=CLbz_PbH660CFWQ0QgodPHnx5Q
Beginning Monday, January 30th, for one week every classroom will be collecting change (and folding money, too!). Each classroom will add to the Heifer Herd in the entry hallway as they receive donations. Please help our herd grow, and give your children the opportunity to make a change in their world.
