K-12 Service-Learning Projects Funded By the Dara J. Kaufman Fund
Spring 2009

• Community Service Provider Book - Grades 1-2

  East End School of Portland – Portland, Maine In response to the problem of higher rates of violent crime in neighborhoods where refugee students live, service-learning students created a book of support for families with photographs and contact information of local service providers. Students submitted stories about past events in their lives that demonstrated a new understanding of how to handle unsafe or potentially unsafe situations. As a result of the book, students developed personal relationships with service providers.

• Sharing Environmental Books - Grade 4

  MSAD 61 Crooked River Elementary School – Casco, Maine Fourth grade students read books on environmental topics to local preschool children at the Naples Public Library. They planned environmental activities to engage the pre-school children.

• Reducing Cafeteria Waste - Grade 6

  Mt. Desert Elementary School – Northeast Harbor, Maine Students wanted to find a way to reduce the waste generated in the cafeteria from all the plastic utensils being used. They presented their research to school staff at a formal meeting, made posters, and educated younger students about the issue. They purchased 750 sets of potato utensils, which decompose in about 6 months, compared to 50 years for the plastic utensils.

• What Will Your Carbon Footprint Be? - Grade 7

  Lincoln Middle School – Portland, Maine After participating in a workshop given by the Maine Energy Education Program, students wanted to share information about how everyone, no matter how young, can make a difference to help the earth by using less fossil fuel. The seventh-graders designed a presentation for grades 4-5 students, along with an informative booklet, "What Will Your Carbon Footprint Be?" They helped the younger students perform energy assessments in their homes using energy audit kits provided by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

• Building a Sustainable Garden - Grades 7-12

  Windham School Department, REAL School on Mackworth Island – Falmouth, Maine Students built an annual garden on a piece of donated land. When the students returned in the fall, the garden was overgrown with weeds. With the help of community partners and a master gardener from a local Greenhouse, the students rebuilt the garden using perennials. Now the garden can be enjoyed by students and staff for years to come!

• Improving Paper Recycling - Grades 9-12

  Winslow High School SU52 Special Education Life Skills/Pre-Vocational Program – Winslow, MaineStudents in the Life Skills program implemented a paper-recycling program throughout the school. The program reduces the amount of trash that the community disposes. The grant funds purchased protective smocks and work gloves to wear while collecting and separating the recyclables and transporting them to the recycling center.

• Helping Homeless Teens - Grades 9-12

  SAD 22 – Hampden, Newburgh, Winterport, Maine Students in the Youth Advocacy Program wanted to help the homeless teens in the area. Working with the Shaw House, the students filled 10 backpacks with personal care items and distributed them to teens in need.

• Community Garden - Grades 9-12

  Portland High School – Portland, Maine Students adopted a community garden that was started by a nearby Homeless Shelter. In collaboration with Cultivating Community (an organization that uses organic, sustainable practices to grow food in the community, in school gardens, and at partnering farms), the students learned about growing food and giving back to their community. When the students harvested their gardens, they donated their food to the Preble Street Food Pantry. The project was featured in the Maine Sunday Telegram and along with journals they kept during the year, helped students realize the impact their efforts had on their community.

• Kicking Cigarette Butts Out of the Park - Grades 9-12

  Old Orchard Beach Schools – Old Orchard Beach, Maine High school students addressed the problem of cigarette butt litter in their local park and the health issue of smoking. They incorporated a day of picking up cigarette butts at Memorial Park into the Clean Up OOB Day. Students distributed information about how to quit smoking.

• Keeping the Bay Clean - Grades 10-12

  Bristol Warren Regional School District, Mt Hope High – Bristol, Rhode Island To educate citizens about the danger of disposing waste material and other pollutants into or near storm drains, student volunteers labeled drains to read, "Don't Dump, Drains to Bay." This effort to keep Narragansett/Mt Hope Bay clean was implemented in partnership with Rhode Island Save the Bay, Save Bristol Harbor, and the town planner for Bristol, RI. Students report they see less debris near the drains since educating the community.