These kids, educators and schools made a difference!
Email your OCHO Project success story and photos so that we may post them here. Your story will inspire others by showing what little effort it takes to help those in need and make a huge difference in the world - and feel great doing so!
EDUCATORS: visit the PROGRAMS page to download the project guide and forms.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]
[View the Project Guide]
How in the world can young children do so much for their peers across town? At Coral Park Elementary School in Coral Springs, Florida, The OCHO Project: Read for a Need did just that. OCHO stands for "Opportunities for Children to Help Others." Students in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades were challenged to read eight books and obtain a sponsor for $1.00 per book. With the money collected, books were purchased for the Coral Park readers to give to 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders in a neighboring Title One school, Hunt Elementary. Children selected books by genre (i.e., mystery, fantasy, biography, etc.) and took them to Hunt where 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students who did not have many books at home could select their very own titles to keep! The children at Hunt were also challenged to read eight books prior to the OCHO Project delivering books to them. Pictures tell the story as do student’s reflections of their involvement in Project OCHO.
Comment from our students:
“I love to read and I want other kids to love it, too!”
“It felt really good to help other children.”
Dr. Amanda Miles, Principal (submitted story)
Coral Park Elementary School
Coral Springs, FL
I am a Guidance Counselor at Northwest Elementary in Hudson, Florida. Northwest is a Title One school with over 80% of our students on free or reduced lunch. I met Marilyn Peryln in August of 2008 at a Character Camp. She was presenting on Service-Learning and, of course, The OCHO Project: Read for a Need. I knew immediately that The OCHO Project would be a great service-learning project for our students to get involved in.
Every year when the book fair comes around it just breaks my heart. Many students feel left out because their parents did not have money to give them. Others come in with a handful of change, hoping to get a book, but walk away with an eraser or pencil. What breaks my heart even more is the fact that many students tell me they do not have any books at home. I thought to myself, "How wonderful would it be to have a book fair where all students receive books for free!"
As a Title One school, I knew that many of our families would not be able to collect the $8 pledge money. We reached out to businesses and community members to ask that they donate $8 pledges for our students who could not afford it. About 230 students brought in pledge money and we raised enough money to sponsor another 80 students. Veteran's Elementary, another local, non Title One School also held a book drive for us to collect slightly used books for our book fair.
We scheduled the book fair for May 2009 so that our students would have books at home to read over the summer. All of our 750 students pledged to read 8 books regardless of whether they could bring in pledge money and all 750 students were able to choose 4 books for free from the book fair. Over $1200 was collected and sent to Look at a Book, the OCHO partnering book provider. There were over 3000 books at our book fair!
The OCHO Project was a huge success and the students were so excited to have books of their own to take home and read. More importantly, they learned valuable lessons in trustworthiness, kindness, and responsibility. Our school was given an opportunity to "Pay it Forward" by sending books to Tanzania, Africa for other children who do not have books at home. Students brought in books they received at last years book fair that they finished reading so that another child can enjoy them too. Northwest students are anxiously awaiting this years OCHO book fair!
Lisa Peart, Guidance Counselor
Northwest Elementary, Hudson, FL
Number of books obtained through The OCHO Project: 3000
Number of books donated through The OCHO Project: 1500
The students are reading their books from the OCHO project. They were so excited to be able to receive books from their classmates working towards a goal to help their school. The students that accomplished their goal felt such a sense of pride when watching all of the students with their new books. After choosing their books, the students were so excited that they opened their books immediately and began to read. They loved sharing their new "picks" with other students. Many of the students also wrote thank you notes to the internet company, Look at a Book, that helped provide these books. This project helped our staff and students come together to help others and see the success of their efforts. Our students learned what literacy is and how important it is to be able to have books at home so that they can improve their reading skills.
Tami Hess,
Special Education K-5
Four hundred eighty-five students, five teachers, a principal, and guests celebrated in song and dance when the students received books sent to them by students at Northwest Elementary School in Hudson, Florida.
Marilyn Perlyn, creator of The OCHO Project: Read for a Need, Opportunities for Children to Help Others, was there to partake in the celebration. Marilyn told the students that they could be “teachers” by drawing pictures that share what their lives are like in Africa and sending them to their new friends at Northwest Elementary School. There was only one problem- not only did the children have no crayons but they had never even heard of a crayon! Needless to say, paper and crayons were immediately sent to the school.
Northwest Student Council members did a power point presentation for students at their school so that they could learn about the lives of the Moya Primary School students.
Number of books shared through The OCHO Project: 100+