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The Benevolent After School King Club Fundraiser

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I am a teacher asking for your help to support the social and emotional needs of students aged 11-13 seeking asylum at King Middle School in Portland Maine!

BASK, which stands for the Benevolent After School King club, is an after school program for a core group of about 12-15 students who have recently immigrated as asylum seekers or refugees and are experiencing homelessness or other significant instabilities. The students chose their own name for the group, and their choice to be named "Benevolent" reflects their core agreement to be kind and welcoming to everyone, and to create a space where everyone can have fun.

I taught BASK in person three days per week for two hours after school during the 2019-20 school year, and I re-created the program online in March when the school buildings were required to close and the school district shifted to remote learning. These donations will allow me to create a program within the pandemic safety constraints of the 2020-21 school year, and provide as many opportunities as possible for these students to decompress, have fun, and just enjoy being kids.

I estimate that it costs about $150 per student to outfit that student with these basic supplies: a backpack, a zip up binder, a water bottle, headphones/earbuds, pencils and a pencil box/pouch, two pocket folders, notebooks, an item for drawing like a sketch book, an item of sports equipment like a soccer ball, and miscellaneous small supplies like a calculator, pencil sharpener, eraser caps, rulers, etc. I am asking for $2,250 to be able to purchase these supplies for just the core group of 15 students who are experiencing the most insecurity at this time.

Students in BASK are always asking if they may have extra items to distribute to their siblings, cousins and friends. Therefore, I am asking for an additional $1,125 to allow each student to have the opportunity to experience generosity and share some extra supplies with a loved one.

I am also asking for $565 to provide students with one granola bar per day for mid-morning snack, plus the ability to provide them with juice and some kind of special snack like popcorn once per week.

I am also asking for $140 to allow 12 students to make slime a total of 3 times. BASK students LOVE making slime! They would be happy to do it every day, and I can facilitate this activity according to COVID-19 safety protocols.

Because students are going to continue to be spending most time at home as this pandemic wears on, I am also asking for funds to purchase 3 books per student to allow 15 students to create a home library of culturally appropriate books that they have selected for themselves.

   $2,250 (basic supplies)
   $1,125 (supplies to share)
   $0,565 (snacks)
   $0,140 (slime)
+ $0,675 (home library)
____________________________
 $4,755 (or $317.00/student)

My goal is to have at least $2,250 raised by September 15th, 2020.

All funds will go directly to purchasing consumables for program activities or supplies for students. If unexpected circumstances related to the pandemic prevent me from facilitating in-person activities, I will shift the snack and slime budget into basic supplies. Thank you!

If you want your donation to support a specific need, I will be keeping track of pledges at www.tinyurl.com/BASKwishlist. Please check it out! Thank you!

You may donate to this GoFundMe, or you can ship items directly (please indicate "For Leah/BASK") or make out a check to: King Middle School, 92 Deering Ave., Portland ME 04102 and request a receipt for tax purposes. Thank you!

Organizer

Leah Flumerfelt
Organizer
Portland, ME

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