At the beginning of the semester, we formed the EACAP group in class and choose the project that we would like to do. In the beginning, the “science book collection” is not our first choice. But because there are fewer members in our group, We are suggested to do the Glenside project – “Science Book Collection”. And we decided the group name which is called “ The Berks Planters”. We get this name because we want to try our best to do something for the environment, and we want to let more and more people to involve in to do some actions for protecting the environment. We first get to know more about our project is when we first met with Ms. Fisher, the principal of Glenside Elementary School. She told us that 95% of the students at Glenside Elementary School are from economically disadvantaged homes. They do not have many opportunities to access many books to learn science-related knowledge. And she wants us can find more sponsors to purchase more S.T.E.A.M book for these kids in Glenside. That is the first time for us to do this kind of project. Actually, at first, we have no idea about how to raise the money in Penn State Berks. Under the help from Ms. Fisher and Dr. K, we have a clear plan and the materials that we need for this project. Ms. Fisher provided us lots of science book introduction list and envelopes. She also provided us with many suggestions about how to let more students and staffs get to know about our project. And we began to write the fundraising letter which we think is the hardest part of this project. Thanks to Dr. K to help us revise the letter many times, and at last, we finished our fundraising letter with a detailed introduction of our purpose and many ways for us to collect the donations.
At first, we just came to the office and talked with the professors to introduce our project. But that is not an effective way for us to get the donations. Then we try to communicate with the librarians and put several copies of book lists and letters in the library. And the librarian Ms. Lessig help us collect the check in the library. We also try to put the letters in the mailboxes of the staffs at Berks. These methods make our project spread over in Berks, and we received more and more donations from people in Berks. And at last, we took part in the Community Awareness Event and Earth Day to share our project to more students, professors, and visitors from Reading, which makes our project proceeded more successfully. In the end, We totally get 209 dollars for purchasing the science books for Glenside Elementary School students. And we bought 14 books in the first order online.
We think that this is a really interesting and meaningful project. Because we learned from the class that the lack of education is always a cause of many environmental issues. And we are glad that we can have an opportunity to provide more books to the kids and let them get to know and have an interest in science and our environment. Although 14 books are just a small amount of books, we think that our project will let more people focus on education about environmental science. We believe that if everyone does a small step for protecting our environment, we will get a big progress for addressing more environmental issues.
This project also makes everyone in the group have a great improvement in some skills. We begin to know how to cooperate with others and work for the same purpose together. We also have a great improvement in communication skills. In the beginning, we are a little nervous to talk and introduce our project to other people. But now, we can be confident to talk and answer any questions about our project. Thanks for this opportunity to let us work together for protecting the environment in our ways!