Drum Roll Please...

Congratulations, Indian Trail!!   Through your generosity, we as a school community have collected $5,034 for ShelterBox this week!!!   The students of Indian Trail acted as a team, not competitively or for rewards, to help others in need. We learned about a cause, worked hard at everything from extra activities at school to extra chores at home to achieve a shared goal. This amount smashes our goal of trying to raise enough for 4 boxes, and we are now able to purchase 5 boxes to help 50 people in a time of need.

We will keep you posted when we have identification numbers for our boxes so we can track where they end up and in what country they help families in need.   

Thank you so much for giving so generously and working so hard.  Today is an amazing day to be a tiger!

We reached our goal one day early!!!

A HUGE “hats off” to our Indian Trail community because on "Hats Off to YOU for Giving to Give Day" we have hit our goal of $4,000!  That's right, one day before the end of spirit week we have raised $4,008.37!   Congratulations, Indian Trail!  Isn’t it so exciting?!  Now all donations received tomorrow will go towards a fifth box and we’ll be closer to helping 50 people who have lost their homes!

Don’t forget to wear blue and white or Indian Trail gear in honor of being part of such an incredibly community!

Thanks for Giving to Give SOOO generously!

ShelterBox Fact of the Day:

-       Each ShelterBox has a specific identification number, so we’ll be able to track our boxes and find out where they end up!

Brainteasers!

Each week, I am going to be posting a brainteaser on my blog.
The first person to email me the correct answer (at ebelkind@nssd112.org) will win a prize!
Just click on the "Brainteasers" page on the right!
Good luck!

ShelterBox

Today we got to learn about the ShelterBox organization, see actual items that come in the box, and go inside a real tent that is sent to families who need a place to live after a disaster.

Don’t forget to kick off our week of giving by wearing green on Monday, and bring in a donation to support this great cause. 

Also, please plan on joining us on Tuesday morning to the before-school ShelterBox Pajama Party at 8am on Tuesday morning!  Breakfast items will be available for $1-2 donations, and ShelterBox items will be on display.

ShelterBox Fact of the Day:

-       On any given day, more than 12 million people worldwide lack adequate shelter

Mark Your Calendars- Giving to Give Spirit Week!

Tomorrow we are going to attend a ShelterBox assembly.  Please talk to your student when they come home tomorrow about what they learned, saw, and took away from the presentation.  More detailed information about the ShelterBox organization will follow in the very near future.

In the meantime, please put the following information regarding next week’s Giving to Give Spirit Week on your calendars. 

*Note: We are not going to be competitively keeping track of which class or grade level raises the most amount of money, but instead have set one goal of working together as a school community to raise $4,000 and are going to provide students with several opportunities throughout the week to achieve that goal:

Monday, January 24: Green Day

·      In honor of the actual Shelter Boxes, which are green, students and staff are encouraged to wear green to school. 

Tuesday, January 25: Pajama Day

·      Roll out of bed and come straight to school in your comfy pjs!  Also, kick off your day with a ShelterBox Pajama Party: bring a special guest (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, baby-sitter) to school at 8:00 am for our pajama party!   ShelterBox items will be displayed and families can join us for hot chocolate, coffee, and bagels.  Suggested donation will be $1-2 per item, but we encourage you to give any amount that will help us reach our $4,000 fundraising goal.

o Students in K-2^nd grade (and special guests) join us for a pajama party downstairs in the lunch room

o   Students in 3^rd-5^th grade (and special guests) join us for a pajama party in the big gym

Wednesday, January 26: Help Us Meet Our GOAL Day

·      Students and staff can wear gear from their favorite sports team and watch as we creep closer to our goal of raising $4,000!!   Remember to contribute what you are able, every little bit counts!

Thursday, January 27: Hats Off to You for Giving to Give Day

·      Wear a hat and feel proud about making a contribution to this worthy cause!

Friday, January 28: Indian Trail Spirit Day

• Let's all wear our IT Tigers apparel as we come together as a school community for one last day of donations.  We’ll all be anxiously awaiting the grand total announcement at the end of the day!

Giving to Give

What does it mean to “give for the sake of giving?”   As Indian Trail prepares to launch Giving to Give week next week, please take this opportunity for some family discussion about charitable giving. 
·      What does “giving to give” or “giving for the sake of giving” actually mean?  
·      How does it compare to “giving to get”?  
·      Does one make you feel different than the other?
·      Why is donating to a valuable cause important, and how does it promote good citizenship?

Indian Trail is going to be raising money to benefit ShelterBox, a worldwide disaster relief organization that sends shelter and survival supplies to families who suddenly lose everything due to natural or man-made disasters.  We are going to work hard to raise money, but we don’t want to motivate students through incentives like competitions and promises of pizza parties.  Instead, we want students to experience what it’s like to donate just for the sake of knowing they are making a difference in the lives of other people.

Please watch the following ShelterBox video as a family and discuss how you might be able to make a difference for families you have never met.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFUFykoy_PA&feature=related

Are YOU ready to make a difference?!

Get ready for Giving to Give Spirit Week

January 24-28

www.shelterboxusa.org