Over 30 fifth grade students made individual donations to social justice causes of their choice after the Buckley Country Day School hosted its second annual Upper School Social Entrepreneur Expo this May. In total, students raised about $2,500 at the expo this year.
Starting in February, under the guidance of Patricia Russac, library director and history teacher, and Natasha Chadha, English teacher, the children researched, read, and learned about social entrepreneurs like Toms Shoes and Bombas Socks, eventually starting a company of their own centered around a social justice issue of their choice.
Russac says students chose a topic that they are passionate about and that is comfortable for them. Some picked women’s or refugee rights and others chose the lack of clean water or hunger. From press releases, to animated infographics to the actual product, the students worked to create and promote the business entirely on their own.
“They come away thinking that they have been a part of history in making a change,” says Russac. “That is what we want here at Buckley, to really try to instill in children that they can be Gen We, the generation that doesn’t wait for adults. That they have everything at their fingertips to make a change, and they can. They don’t have to wait for us to do it.”
For five years Buckley Country Day School has had an entrepreneurship unit, focused more on math, but last year the school changed it to be more socially minded thanks to Russac Natasha Chadha.
The work from the expo got the Buckley Country Day School students invited to the next We Day conference in the fall, an invitation only event in which children who are making a difference gather to listen to empowering speakers and watch performances in celebration of the work they are doing.
Image: Buckley Country Day School students created a company of their own centered around a social justice issue of their choice.
Courtesy Buckley Country Day School
