Group of Del Prado Students Help Underprivileged Kids

Everyone wants to help the world, but making a positive change is not always easy. When a human being is able to overcome their selfish instincts, and better their communities, it is a remarkable thing.

This is even more remarkable when a class of 4th graders do it.

Hanbi is a rising 5th grader at Del Prado Elementary School, where she is working to help underprivileged children.

Mrs. Singh, Hanbi’s teacher, assigned her 4th grade class the Light Warrior Project- a project designed to have students give back to their community.

Hanbi, along with her two classmates, Shelly and Roma, decided to sell homemade bracelets and charms, in an attempt to raise money for the Children’s Home Society of Florida.
The Children’s Home Society is dedicated to helping neglected and abused children find support, security, love and guidance.

What started with some Polymer clay and a good idea, quickly turned into a determined effort to raise as much money as they could before the school year came to a close.

Hanbi began spending at least two hours every day after school crafting, baking, cooling and glazing charms. This was not a short process, and many of the charms would come out broken or cracked, making 10-year-old Hanbi have to repair or remake several charms.

After Hanbi would finish a batch of charms, the job would be passed to Shelly and Roma, who would fashion the charms onto bracelets.

The sales began at school, where the girls would collect $.50 per bracelet. After witnessing how popular the product was, the students decided to start selling on the weekends too.
Going door-to-door, the girls were very successful in sales, often selling more than one bracelet per person. Many customers gave donations for the cause, some ranging up to $20.00.

Hanbi’s siblings, Richard and Ariel, also helped the girls in the selling process.

This process went from mid-April to the end of the school year in early June.

As Hanbi’s mother made the arrangements to meet Mary Ensor, the Resource Development Specialist at the CHS in Ft. Lauderdale, Hanbi and her siblings collected their gently used books and clothing to donate, along with the money raised.

According to Ensor, some of the children that come into the Children’s Home Society live in extreme poverty. Having things of their own helps them feel safer in an uncontrollable situation.
Ensor states that Hanbi and her friends “Went above and beyond” with their contribution to the organization. The students put a lot of detail into their work and are very interested to know how they are helping to make a difference.

On June 2, 2015, Hanbi and her friends were able to present a check for $320, books, clothing, and a box of bracelets made as a gift for the neglected and/or abused children.
Ensor told Hanbi that the money raised would go towards the children’s therapy, safety and education.

“The $320 will go towards the funding of the key services and programs that work to end the cycle of abuse and neglect” says Ensor.

“What we give to them is a hope that there is something good in life.” Said Hanbi in an essay she penned for her classmates.
In addition to Hanbi and her friends, other groups in her class held car washes and lemonade stands, donating all the proceeds to several animal shelters and foundations for different illnesses.