Student Created Community Project: Buddy Baskets

It started with an elevator pitch- which of the 17 students in Interdisciplinary Research class would come up with the best community service for the class to put together for the final quarter of the school year? There were 4 rounds, each getting more and more competitive for the top spot. Finally, the project "Buddy Baskets" was announced as the winners. Next step? Complete the community project in real life.

Buddy Baskets are care packages for new mothers and their babies that will be distributed (free of charge to the mothers) by The Virginia Women and Families Center in Haymarket, VA. Read more here: Buddy Baskets Website. Each basket contains high need items for infants as well as self care items for mom, and a few snacks of course! The goal is to assemble 25 baskets, where the cost of each basket and items inside is about $85.

Fundraising as a middle schooler is tough, this is the first big community service project that most of these students have participated in. As a class, we decided on creating an Amazon Wish List so that anyone local or even international could send items directly to Metz Middle School, where the baskets will be assembled. This Amazon list shows exactly what we will put in each baskets and how many items are still needed before our project concludes on May 21st, 2025. Most items are bulk items that will be divided up across multiple baskets- so your one purchase can help between 4-50 mothers and babies with a few clicks and a small payment.

Please consider purchasing items directly from the Amazon Wish List, and then sharing it with friends and family- or your enemies, if you feel that they need redemption from some good karma. I also encourage you to read the student built website to learn more about the students and the organization we have chosen to support.

With gratitude,

Laurel Lewis, Interdisciplinary Research Teacher at Metz Middle School

And my 17 students with the brightest futures imaginable