Past projects 2
Making Memories
Funded Nov 28, 2023Thank you so much to your contribution to the "Making Memories" project in the RISE classroom! We were so lucky to be fully funded with this project, and we were able to purchase a polaroid printer and film. The printer works with a smartphone app so we can quickly print digital pictures on polaroid film. We have been able to use these photos for several projects including decorating the classroom, sending thank you cards, and for photos in our scrapbooks. The polaroid pictures add such a fun touch to these projects, and are so easy for the students to use. Often, neurodivergent individuals are not photographed as often as their neurotypical peers, so it is so fun to watch the faces of the students light up when they see themselves in a picture with their friends. The students also love the job of shaking the polaroid picture while it develops. Thank you again so much for your generous donation, we are really enjoying it!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wahonick
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 5 other donors.Button Business
Funded Oct 15, 2022Thank you so much for your contribution of the button maker to our classroom. The students have truly enjoyed getting to learn how to use this new machine. The step-by-step instructions that came with the button maker have been so helpful in teaching the students how to follow a sequence. This type of skill transfers to many different types of vocational skills. My students will need to know how to follow a sequence in every job that they may have in the future, from doing laundry, to shredding paper, to clocking in, so following step by step directions is such a valuable skills to practice.
We are now able to sell buttons to promote our dog treat business. We have created buttons with our business logo on them and we have added them to our website for sale. They are a great item to sell, because we can make a lot of them in advance, so we do not have the challenge of an expiration date. In addition to being a new source of revenue in our business, our buttons serve as a way to advertise our business. Students can be seen wearing our buttons on their backpacks at school which can pique interest and lead to more sales.
We have had some fun with the button maker as well. One of our students really loves tornado sirens, and waits all month for them to test the sirens at 11:00 on the first Wednesday of each month. To celebrate, we have created buttons for all his friends and staff to wear on the big day. It is so fun seeing him get excited whenever he sees someone wearing the button! We have plans to use the button maker to create Autism awareness buttons to sell throughout the month of April, which is Autism month. We are hoping to increase awareness and acceptance of Autism throughout our school, and having students wearing buttons to show their support will help start the conversation about Autism.
It has been so helpful to have additional money coming in for our classroom budget. So far, we have been able to use the money made on button sales to purchase much needed items for our classroom like wet wipes, lanyards to hold student ID cards, hair combs, lamination sheets, and extra clothing for students who need it. In general, teachers tend to use a lot of their own money to purchase supplies for their classroom. Special education teachers can be especially guilty of this, as our students often need a lot more supplies to be happy, healthy, and successful at school. I am so grateful for the additional funding that our classroom gets that comes through our dog treat business and button sales because it helps to cover those additional costs.
I cannot thank donors like you enough for using your hard-earned money to help classrooms like ours. Your generosity has provided not only job skills training, but also resources to our classroom to support our students' wellness and learning. Thank you so much for your contribution to our classroom business.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Wahonick