Bishop Calvin woods and Susan Osnos

Every year the 8th graders at Lagunitas Middle School travel to Alabama to learn about the Civil Rights movement. It is something that everyone looks forward to all through Elementary School and Middle School. 

Through fundraising at school events and with the help of Leap, everyone is able to go to Alabama even if the family can’t afford it. This year there will be 36 students and 15 chaperones which is much more than previous years. 

The two parent co-leads for fundraising this year are Michelle Olsen and Anne Mannes, both moms of 8th graders at Lagunitas. 

The class of 2024 started their fundraising at the end of the last school year. The first event hosted was the Evan Osnos event in April 2023 at Archie Williams High School. To accompany this event, there was also a bake sale held out front with many treats that were donated from parents. The second fundraiser was the Valley Fest where parents and 8th grade students sold brochures about the Civil Rights Tour. There were many other fundraising events, the one bringing in the most profit was Valley Visions organized by a mom of an 8th grader. Valley Visions brought in about $16,000, which was a huge help for families this year. 

Another fundraising event that will help bring in profit is the annual letter-writing campaign where students were assigned to write 3-5 letters to friends and family asking them to donate. In​​ total, more than 150 letters were mailed out and we are already receiving  donations. 

In December, there will be two holiday craft fairs and a huge bakesale that will help to fundraise for this year’s Alabama trip. 

Although we have raised a fair amount of money since the end of last school year, there is still a way to go. So what can you do to help? I have attached a link to this document where you can learn more about the Alabama Civil Rights Tour and donate if you are interested. Every little bit helps our journey. 

On this trip we will learn so many things. We will see where Martin Luther King Jr. grew up, we will learn about the many marches and protests that took place in Alabama and Georgia, and we will learn about how ordinary people, like you and me, can do extraordinary things. 

https://leap4education.org/alabama-2024/

Evan Osnos 

Valley fest

Valley visions August

Peace fest bake sale

This fall: 2 craft fairs and a big bake sale 

Letter-writing campaign