Five Oaks Academy: Multiplying Promises into Dollars for Water

A recent letter from Bonnie Benthall, teacher at Five Oaks Academy in Simpsonville, South Carolina shares a little about her community's response and experience during their Amman-a-thon fundraising drive.  The Amman-a-thon ties together athletics, math and philanthropy, providing students with a first-hand experience of how practice adds up to something concrete and powerful.

Dear Debbie and Ariane,

In the next few days you will be receiving our donation for Amman Imman totaling $4,308.65!  I am so proud of our students!

This has been a wonderful journey for our students and I know that they will never forget the experiences they have had fund-raising for Amman Imman this year.  The commitment from all of our students and parents has been amazing.

Our Amman-a-thon was such a success. Many of our parents/family members underestimated how athletic their children were, pledging $1 or even $3. One grandmother pledged $3 each time her granddaughter did a back walkover and each time she did a cartwheel in 5 minutes.  Her total came to $549!

I quickly called this child's mom to see if grandmother wanted to change her pledge. The mother called the grandmother and the grandmother said that she did not want to change her pledge amount. She said $3 so she is going to pay $3 per repetition. She said she "does not want to disappoint that little girl".    

Look out for our package!!  Have a wonderful day!!

In Love and Peace,
Bonnie