Passion-Based Projects: High School Example - Part 2
When the each of the groups began working, the larger group of girls focused on creating events like fun-runs and donation drives for local charities. They soon discovered that they would unable to complete weekly work in class, which was not something that they wished to give up as a group.
Meanwhile, the other student who was working alone suggested that the group make blankets for childrens’ hospitals in the area. It was a project that was tangible and could be worked on in class, so it was immediately adopted by the larger group.
Despite her ideas to support the larger group, she, too, was struggling with her project’s topic. She was running into all sorts of hurdles with her project from getting onto Etsy, to pairing her sales with Etsy to be redirected to the charity, and more. She very soon asked if she could join the larger group in their blanket creation project. They obliged, and the group of three became four.
Now the fun could begin! The students took the time to contact local children’s hospitals to see if their donations would be accepted. They ran into another snag: hospitals have extremely stringent sanitary policies and couldn’t accept very many donations. The girls needed to turn to another charity to support and landed on local homeless shelters. After making some calls, they were in! Two local shelters would accept their blankets when they were completed in the spring.
Planning for blanket creation and construction began immediately. The group had to figure out what materials that they needed, how they were going to get them, and what processes they were going to go through to create them.
After approximately a month of planning (4 period over a month of school), the students, with their own money, had purchased the preliminary supplies that they needed for the project. They measure, cut, and tie fabric together to make small blankets of varying patterns. The girls make approximately two in a single class period, and that’s if they work fast. Their goal by the end of the year is to produce at least 20 blankets; 10 for each shelter that they wish to donate to.