Creating a Safe and Cozy Place for Pride

Funded Nov 29, 2023

Thank you so much for donating to my classroom and the Harmony Club! I am so pleased to be able to get my first project funded, receive items for my first ever classroom of my own that I know will last. I am also greatly pleased with the amount of support we had received to help my students be their true selves and have a comfortable and welcoming place to exist.

Our packages arrived to us during the school day, and when we opened our packages as a class, it was like Christmas morning! I loved watching their reactions and listening to them share their feelings of excitement, "Wow!" " I love those!" or "I've always wanted one of my own!"

One of mine, and my students favorite items to receive was our two rugs. A lot of my students tend to move round a lot to help them focus and get work done. The rugs allow for a more comfortable and relaxed choice for students to do their work. My students and I use the rugs every single day, whether it be for social time, instructional groups around the room, lecture time if they do not want to sit at a desk, anything they want, they get used very frequently.

We now have flags in our windows, adding color and movement in our room. A couple of my students specifically requested if we could get a Black Lives Matter flag, and upon opening the package, the excitement on their face that their requests were fulfilled brought me so much joy. Other flags are hung around the room, supporting various cultures, sexualities, and various identities to help show that those identities matter and should be celebrated.

For the Harmony Club, the after school club for students in the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, we ordered items to help them be proud of their identity. Pronoun pins, mini pride flags, bracelets, and rainbow pencils brought joy to the members. I often see the members around school wearing their pins proudly. The club also received a rainbow tablecloth and some stickers that we plan on handing out when we host events on campus to bring awareness and acceptance to the LGBTQ+ community.

I am always thinking of new materials to bring to my classroom to make learning more fun, engaging, and enriching. Thank you for being part of my teaching journey and I hope you consider giving to my next project.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Colby