Jill O’Hara is making a huge impact at Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, with a little help from her friends.
This past summer, the kindergarten teacher tried to figure out a way to give each of her students a new book from Scholastic every month during the 2019-2020 academic year – at no cost to the child’s family. So Jill turned to Facebook in late July, challenging her family and friends to sponsor her students by donating $10 apiece.
Although she promised to purchase and deliver books to her students on behalf of sponsors, Jill worried that her efforts would fall short of covering all 17 kids. By August, though, each student had a sponsor for the entire school year!
“As the sponsorships have poured in, I am torn which I love more: the excitement of my students or the excitement of the adults wanting to share a love for reading and learning,” said Jill, who added that some sponsors are supporting multiple students. “The way that all of my students and all of these sponsors are inspiring me holds a very special place in my heart. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the school year goes.”
Jill handed out 17 new Scholastic books to her kids in September and let them know how it happened and who helped.
“One child said, ‘They are my hero,’ and another said, ‘Thank you for the book because I never had a book to keep; I’m going to read it every day,’” Jill said. “I want to thank all of our sponsors for giving our students this wonderful experience!”
Posted 11/1/19