“A pig and goat!” “No, a water buffalo and bees!” Shouts came from all around the Rundlett Middle School seventh-grade classroom. The lively but unlikely debate was sparked by the Read To Feed Program, which raises money to buy farm animals for families in impoverished countries. Eighth-grader Brooke Mills introduced the program to her Rundlett peers; this was the seventh class she’d led – and the most profitable. This class raised $282, enough to get a variety of fuzzy and functional farm animals. The debate was heated, but the class eventually settled on a water buffalo for $250 and bees for $30.
“This is the first time we’ve gotten a water buffalo!” Mills said.
Students raised the money by convincing their parents, friends and family to pledge a donation for each book they read.
“It definitely encouraged kids to pick up a book to help out other people,” said teacher Howie Leung. “Some of these kids were even digging in and pledging their own money.”
Mackenzie Baum was the class’s high fundraiser, bringing in $96 of the total on her own. She said participating in the program was a no-brainer.
“It’s a lot of fun knowing that you can help people and make their lives better,” Baum said.
The students helped out families in foreign lands and read some great books while doing it. Their biggest takeaways, however, seemed be a sense of empathy and an appreciation for how good they have it here in Concord.
“Sometimes I do this – you take stuff for granted,” said Brenna McNamara. “It’s just hard to imagine what they go through.”
