St. Maria Goretti School Gives Back with Art to Remember

Every semester, we work with a handful of teachers that take a different angle with their Art to Remember fundraiser. We love hearing their stories and getting to share them with you too.

This week, we talked to Sharon Dan who is the art teacher at St. Maria Goretti School in Westfield, Indiana. She tied her Art to Remember fundraiser to her school’s year long focus on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“This year as a school, each grade level chose a global goal and formed a plan to contribute to that goal in some way. As the art teacher, I wanted to be involved, but it was overwhelming to think of how I could do that many extra projects to focus on each of the goals. Then I saw an email from Lori from Art to Remember and I knew what I would do. I emailed her and got my school on the calendar for the program that fall. I had not done Art to Remember for a number of years, but I knew it was a good fundraiser. It was even easier than I remembered, and the students and families loved everything they purchased. The best part of all is that I was able to donate over $300 to each grade level, for a total of $1,800, to help with their global goals. That means our artwork contributed money towards six of the 17 global goals! Who says art can’t make a difference?! Thank you, Art to Remember!”

“Here is an overview of each goal by grade level:

Kindergarten and First Grade: Sustainable Goal #15 – LIFE ON LAND
They collected plastic caps all year, recycled them, and had them made into a bench for our playground.

Second Grade: Sustainable Goal #4 – QUALITY EDUCATION
They simulated a school day in Costa Rica. Some of our high school students were there over spring break and they talked to them about the experience. The money left over from the day was donated to the school in Costa Rica.

Third Grade: Sustainable Goal #6 – CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
They donated their money to Gift of Water to purchase water purification supplies.

Fourth Grade: Sustainable Goal #3 – GOOD HEALTH AND WELL BEING
They collected tabs and donated money to the Ronald McDonald House.

Fifth Grade: Sustainable Goal #2 – ZERO HUNGER
They used the money to build new raised garden beds and buy plants. Their produce will be donated to our food pantry.”