The learners will collect money or items for disaster relief. They will choose a relief organization(s) to contribute to and advocate for aid in their families, school and community peer groups.

 Anticipatory Set

 Instruct the learners to create a list of all of the places they (or their family) have been in the last week (school, store, place of worship, sports, home, etc.). Allow a few minutes for students to individually brainstorm this list.

Create a chart with four columns as a class display (See Attachment Two: Four Sector Chart for a model). The labels are to be left off the chart until the end of this portion of the activity. Ask the learners to share some of the places they brainstormed (ask them not to repeat things other people have said). The teacher records the places in the four columns without telling the students why the different columns: in the first column are government locations, the second column is for-profit businesses, and the third column is for nonprofit organizations. The fourth column is for household (home, grandparents). Once the lists have been created, ask the students to come up with some ideas as to why the places were classified into these three different groups. The teacher may add some examples to each column to help the deductions. The teacher will then put the name of the category on the appropriate column of the chart.

Discuss the similarities/difference between for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors. Use Attachment One: Sector Information for Discussion as a discussion guide. Tell the students that the three sectors work together to supply goods and services and to meet needs and wants. Many types of organizations/businesses may exist in more than one sector. As an example, public school may be nonprofit while a charter or private school may be for-profit or nonprofit. More obvious examples of different sectors could be given using General Motors as a for-profit organization and the Red Cross as a non-profit.

• Tell the students that after a natural disaster (like a hurricane or earthquake), many people and organizations want to help the people who experience loss of homes, loved ones, and other resources. All four of these sectors contribute in times of hardship. Ask the students what kinds of needs people might have after they are hit by a disaster (shelter, food, clothes, water, a way to contact loved ones, health care).
• Display the word philanthropy and define it for the students as: sharing time, talent, and treasure, and taking action for the common good. (Tell the students that the nonprofit sector is also known as the philanthropic sector.) Discuss specific ideas of how the four sectors can share time with victims of a disaster (volunteering, fundraising), what treasures they can share (money, food, clothing, blankets), and what talents may be valuable (engineers, doctors, builders).
• Tell the students that it will take all four of these economic sectors working together to respond to the current disaster.
  • The president of the United States will react to the news of the disaster with a public statement of purpose. What government help has been promised to the victims?
  • The president and media will appeal to the household sector for help. Discuss how that relates to philanthropy. How are individuals stepping up to serve and why?
  • Different nonprofit organizations will be active in the disaster area. Discuss what types of resources and services they will offer? Where does their money come from?
  • For-profit organizations will contribute money and other resources. What are their possible motivations for giving?
• Ask the learners if they think they could do anything to help. How they could mobilize the power, generosity, and leadership of young people in their class/school/community to respond to the disaster? Brainstorm possible service projects and discuss what information they need in order to decide on a plan.
• Help the students collect information by assigning/asking for volunteers to research nonprofit organizations (see Attachment Five: Conducting Research and Attachment Six: Relief Organizations) Other students may talk to local organizations or family members about possible projects. Encourage the students to talk to others to gain support for a service project. Tell them to gather information, ideas, and support in preparation for the next day's discussion.

Day Two

• Use Attachment Four: Web of Concern as a model for discussing the different areas of concern in a disaster. Put one area in the center circle (on a display board) and have the learners brainstorm the possible needs and issues related to the area of concern.
• Discuss the students' research and information gathering efforts to determine a plan of action for a service project.
• Discuss the steps necessary to carry out the project and increase participation by the entire class, school, or community.
• Contact an agency to find out specific needs in order to set a goal and be sure the project meets an actual need.
• Assign tasks/get volunteers to take on projects such as the following: Create a series of posters to advertise the efforts and provide facts and information. Create a theme song/rap to attract the attention of as many potential philanthropists as possible. Write a letter for the school paper or tape an interview for the local cable station on the natural disaster and the efforts of the relief agency your school decides to support. Discuss if a school group such as the Student Council should take major responsibility for organizing the drive. Should there be a challenge goal?
• Plan, organize and begin the collection drive/service project.
• Design a system for recording progress and tracking goals.
• On a daily basis, reflect on how things are going and how learners feel about what they have done and what they could do.

Teacher Note: Student voice is very important in making the decision of where to donate funds. The choice of organization can be made by voting or by consensus. The learners may decide on one organization to receive the donations, or to give a percentage of the donations to several organizations. Follow up on the work of the organization in the hurricane area by periodically researching their accomplishments and problems as they work to reinvigorate the area.

Reflection Activity:

• After the collection drive/service project is complete, have the learners reflect on the issues that have been brought to their attention as a result of the natural disaster. Give each learner a copy of the Reflection Rubric (Attachment Three) as a guide. Ask the learners to write an essay/poem/song that encompasses the ideas of personal involvement for the common good. They should include the accomplishments of the collection, how the learner felt acting as a philanthropist for this worthy cause, lessons learned during completion of the task, and the outcomes of the experience. Encourage them to consider what would be the consequences of a world in which there were no private philanthropic efforts made by its citizens. Consider the importance of philanthropy, not only in this particular situation, but also in one’s nation, state, city, school and neighborhood. Will this experience happen once or will it encourage a continued role of personal involvement for the sake of others?

• Federal Emergency Management Agency: www.fema.org
• The White House Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
• National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster web site: http://www.nvoad.org/
• Learning to Give: www.learningtogive.org. Click on "Teacher" and "Lesson Lists," choose the appropriate grade span to access additional units/lessons about philanthropy.