Minneapolis Jewish Day School Students Raise $4642.38 for the African Well Fund
MJDS Student Danielle Fink, Event Co-Chairs Lucinda Cummings, Miriam Graf, MJDS Student Elana Graf, Dr. Michele Wagner – Professor of African History at University of Minnesota, MJDS Student Mollie Kozberg, and Father Ben Oleket from Kenya who grew up 2 miles from the Ugandan border, and walked two miles each day for water when he was a boy.
Students at the Minneapolis Jewish Day School have raised $4642.38 for the African Well Fund! The students raised the funds through their annual Readathon. The money raised will be used by AWF’s partner organization, Africare, to fund water projects in Africa.
Each year, students at MJDS raise money for a different charity through their Readathon. During their winter school vacation, students obtain adult sponsors in the community to donate money for each book read. The students read as many books as they can and then donate the funds to a charity selected by the 6th graders. This year the sixth graders selected Africare as the charity and the African Well Fund project was chosen as the specific program to fund.
The final totals were announced at the Readathon Celebration at the school on January 21st. 128 children participated in this year’s Readathon. Together they read more than 750 books, enabling them to raise more than $4000. Speaking at the celebration were Dr. Michele Wagner a professor of African History at University of Minnesota and Father Ben Oleket. Father Ben was born in Kenya and he spoke about growing up in Africa where had to walk two miles for water each day.
The top 3 fundraisers each received an African Well Fund t-shirt and every participant received an African Well Fund sticker. Participants in this year’s Readathon will benefit not only from the encouragement to read that the program fosters, but also from an increased awareness of the lack of access to clean water in Africa.
The Minneapolis Jewish Day School is located at 4330 Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis MN. MJDS is an independent K-8 institution dedicated to fostering a respect for self, school, and community that prepares students to live in a complex and democratic society. For more information please visit their website at http://www.mjds.net/mjds/index.html.
The African Well Fund salutes the students and donors of the Minneapolis Jewish Day School community for their wonderful generosity. This achievement will have a significant impact on the daily lives of many Africans.
