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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Soto from Bronx, NY is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Soto is requesting
Student-led project

Creating Our Strength & Finding Our Focus

We need salt, almond oil, glass vessels, essential oils, colored pencils, and books with mandala-inspired patterns.

  • $426 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Soto for her next project!

Help Ms. Soto

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Soto for her next project!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

About My Students

Ahlam, Natara, Liza, Wisleiry, Arianny, Vjola, and Saira are driven by honest curiosity and an earnest commitment to their own well-being. They're seeking a way to create (and share!) new healthy practices that support what they're learning about meditation with products they can make affordably.

When we began Friday Forum (a weekly meeting during lunch when we could enjoy conversation about student-elected topics while enjoying freshly brewed tea), the group drawn to attend was blended - a roughly equal mix of boys and girls; however, I began to notice that my girls were especially quiet during instruction. Their attempts in class, their shyness and hesitation was shadowed by the general boisterousness of the boys. So we began to meet on an additional day for an all-girls group. We talked about the challenges - socially, culturally, stereotypes, and expectations - that we face as women and the ways to navigate these issues when they posed as road blocks. But what could we implement as an immediate, actionable plan to begin to remedy this process as INDIVIDUALS while still honoring a SHARED practice? As we began to read THE WILLPOWER INSTINCT and understand the role of meditation in its direct impact on refining focus, developing grit, and remaining calm, we found an answer.

Now having a space in which we can discuss their concerns has meant that the girls have begun to ask questions about the world ahead. Will it always be like this? How do we create an "our space"? How do we meet the demands upon us while remaining strong, focused, open? This student-led project will allow the girls to work collaboratively - despite differences or distances - to develop the instructional skills to, in turn, teach their peers how to practice the tools about which they are learning. They will be able to support their meditation practices by further focusing their attentions on how they can make application of methods that will work specifically for them in their shared demographic components (i.e. age, gender, economic means). In addition to the research they've undertaken in developing their ideas for this project, and using what they've gained in their science studies to make their selections, they're learning the value of creating and nourishing a support network.

In Their Own Words

Our goal to undertake this project came from learning how meditating helps develop gray matter in the brain that can increase our self-awareness. This improvement will make it possible for us to take on tasks with care, since we are more focused and aware of both our surroundings and distractions. Together we will create our own "uplifting" scrub (rose-based), infused "calming" oil (lavender-based), slippery elm balls (for wellness), and practice a form of moving meditation (coloring mandalas).

The idea of this wonderful project is to practice the concept of meditation, improve our self-care as individuals and as a community, all while encouraging other young women to join us, and reach new milestones that we haven't accomplished before. In fact, it is an opportunity improve how we get along and work with others as a group as we first learn from our teacher and then serve as teachers in our own mini-teaching groups in stations where our classmates can choose what they want to learn.

This project is important for the school community because it helps show young women that we can be in control of caring for both our bodies and our minds. Sometimes we feel like people think girls aren't capable of much. Through this project, we can not only show what we can do for ourselves - but we can teach other girls how to do it! This project allows us to use our research abilities, science skills, and what we learn in psychology to make organic products that improve our well-being.

Ms. Soto Marble Hill High School - International Studies Grades 9-12

Equity Focus

At this school, more than 50% of students are Black, Latino, and/or Native American, and more than 50% come from low-income households. Learn how your donation to this school supports a more equitable education.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Ms. Soto

Bronx, NY View local requests

Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

35 students impacted 7donors

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Soto is requesting.

See our finances

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Frontier Lavender Flowers Whole, 16 Ounce Bag • Amazon Business $32.93 2 $65.86
Sargent Art 22-7251 Colored Pencils, Pack of 50, Assorted Colors • Amazon Business $12.44 2 $24.88
Almond Oil Sweet Oil - 1 Quart - 32 oz. • Amazon Business $16.95 2 $33.90
Rose Essential Oil (30ml), Best Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil - 30ml / 1 (oz) Ounces • Amazon Business $29.99 1 $29.99
Epsoak Epsom Salt 19.75 Lbs - 100% Pure Magnesium Sulfate, Made in USA • Amazon Business $29.99 1 $29.99
Ball Jar Crystal Jelly Jars with Lids and Bands, Quilted, 4-Ounce, Set of 12 • Amazon Business $14.22 2 $28.44
Anthony's USDA Organic Slippery Elm Root, Certified Gluten Free, (16oz) • Amazon Business $24.99 1 $24.99
1oz Cobalt Straight Sided Glass Jar, 30ml Glass Jar, Cosmetics and Lotion Glass Jar(12 Pack) • Amazon Business $10.99 2 $21.98
NOW Foods Lavender Oil, 4 ounce • Amazon Business $20.87 1 $20.87
Frontier Red Rose Petals 1 Pound Bulk Bag • Amazon Business $19.69 1 $19.69
Mandala Meditation Coloring Book (Serene Coloring) • Amazon Business $10.75 1 $10.75
Stress Less Coloring - Mandalas: 100+ Coloring Pages for Peace and Relaxation • Amazon Business $10.67 1 $10.67
Coloring Mandala Animals: Coloring for Stress Relief • Amazon Business $4.49 1 $4.49

Materials cost

$326.50

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$4.90

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$361.40

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$63.78

Total project goal

$425.18

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $425.18

4 Donors

-$196.88

Donations toward project cost

-$180.70

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$16.18

match offer

-$212.59

Match offer toward project cost

-$180.70

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$31.89

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$15.71

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Soto and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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