Memorial Park Elementary Third Graders Complete Empathy Project

Words and Image by Jenny Lynn Davis

Every year, students in Dr. Monisha Moore's third grade class at Memorial Park Elementary School complete an empathy project. The goal of the project is for the students to think critically about problems in their community that need to be solved, and to collaborate to discern ways they can help ease those problems.

In a typical year, the class must decide on a single cause to benefit. This year, however, Dr. Moore was a recipient of The Drummond Company's Teacher of the Month award, which comes with a $500 stipend that the recipient may use to help their class meet their goals for the school year. Dr. Moore directed the stipend toward the empathy project, which allowed her students to choose four causes to benefit.

After a brainstorming session, Dr. Moore's class chose to direct their Empathy Project funds in the following ways

-A donation to the Animal Hospital of Walker County
-A donation to a local family who recently took in a foster child
-Providing lunch for the custodians at Memorial Park School
-STEM supplies for their own classroom that will later be donated to Our Village, an educational enrichment collaborative in Jasper

"The students learn a lot from the empathy project, from how to work in teams, how to budget funds, and most importantly, how to be problem solvers and agents of kindness and change in their own communities," Dr. Moore says. "They love making a positive impact on others, and it's so rewarding to see them realize that just because they're only 8 and 9 years old, doesn't mean they can't make a change in the world. We're incredibly thankful to the Drummond family for making this possible!"