Amy Cohen, a teacher at the J.R. Masterman School in Pennsylvania, gave her seventh grade students a project in their world geography class: educate your peers on an issue of global importance and then raise money to make a change.  The issue the students chose as most important to them: the need for vaccinations in the developing world. 

After contacting VillageReach for information on the issue and doing research on their own, the "7-5" class broke into teams to educate their school. They gave class presentations, put up posters and fliers, sent out school-wide emails, and even created   their own website entitled "Shots for Tots." The students' goal was to impress upon their peers the importance of childhood  vaccinations and how disparities in global health care leave millions of children in poor nations without this vital protection against disease.

At the end of their project, the students held a bake sale to benefit VillageReach and raised $550.00. This sum was enough to buy much needed equipment for a rural health clinic in the developing world, including: a medical waste disposal system, an LPG cylinder with burner and pot holder to sterilize medical equipment, and a bicycle for community outreach.  They allocated the rest of the funds  to VillageReach general operating costs.

In addition to raising vital funds, the Masterman students also played a key role in the movement to improve health and quality of life by spreading the word on an often invisible issue. As they educated others on global inequities, the students built their own connections to those in developing nations.  They found that the vaccines they had never thought twice about in their own lives were a privilege and a rarity for millions of children, and they were pleased to have a chance to  make a change.  

VillageReach is grateful to the seventh graders at the Masterman school and to their teacher, Amy Cohen, for their hard work and dedication to improving global health and quality of life for children everywhere.