JAM

As we consider what we will make and sell to our community, there are a variety of questions we ask ourselves. What would the group like to make? We usually come up with several ideas and then vote on the ideas. We talk about who the product might appeal to, as well as consider supply and demand. How will we price the product? This is a matter of considering profit and loss. Who will we sell the product to? Who are the consumers? How will we deliver the product?

We started with very simple products - Heart Poppers. These were made from toilet paper tubes, cut out hearts, and a balloon. The balloon was attached to the back of the tube, hearts put inside the tube, and when the balloon is pulled back, the hearts pop out.

It's best to start with small projects and have the complexity of the projects grow based on what new type of making the group would like to learn. We reached out to members of our community to come and teach making that we were interested in - bookbinding, crocheting, knitting, etc.

The kindergarten and 1st-grade students partner with 4th-grade students and 2nd-grade students partner with 3rd-grade students to begin creating the products. The 5th-grade students are the quality control group that makes sure the products are being created to the best of our abilities. To complete the process, 6th-grade studentstake the completed products and do the labeling and bagging of the orders.

In the beginning, we only sold items to individuals in our building. The orders were then delivered by the girls to each classroom.

When a member has an idea of where to donate money, they must research the cause and present it to the entire membership. We then vote to choose one or two causes that will receive any monies raised during that month.

We have decided that we will not donate to one particular individual, but rather to causes that may have an impact on an individual. For instance, if someone in our group knows of someone with cancer, we will donate to an organization like the American Cancer Society.

Donations don't necessarily mean money. We have also donated our time. For instance, we went to a local retirement home and planted flowers. We have also made placemats for the Meals on Wheels organization. More importantly, we stress to our members that you don't need recognition for doing something kind. Being kind is simply the right thing to do.

Once our product was sold, and the money was collected and counted by the students we had to decide how we were going to handle the money. A field trip was taken to our local bank where the tellers were kind enough to help a few members of our group set up the appropriate accounts. Each meeting we talk about how much money we collected and how much we paid out.

These are such valuable life skills for our students - it's a true connection between school and their outside world. It's more tangible for the students to complete this process hands-on than through a worksheet.

Once the checks are written, the girls add a note, address the envelope and put thedonation in the mail. We feel that it is important for the JAM girls to see the process through to the end.

It gives them a true sense of how the world around them operates.

All of the people we donate to, send us thank you notes. This is especially important to show our students that they are making a difference in their own unique way.