Gianna Platt- Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- Three students at Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) turned their class projects into real-world impact after winning $100 donations for the charities that they researched in their projects for Michael Vanderford’s personal finance class.
The project “Personal Finance: How Dreams are Funded,” challenged students to create presentations about charities of their choice.
The donations were sponsored by Bradenton’s “Water2Wine Travel.”
According to Vanderford, “Winners were selected in each class for the ‘most worthy of donations’ category, with the money funded by local business Water2Wine Travel.”
The students that were selected for “most worthy of donations” were freshmen Savannah Rogers, Seth Knorr, and Ashlynn Larazzo.
For these students, the assignment was more than just a project. It was an opportunity to support causes that they care deeply about and have personal connections to.
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Rogers, a freshman, picked a Christian care center as her charity.
Her religion is very significant in her life, and she said that the reason she picked this charity was because she's very rooted in her faith and wanted to reach people through Christianity, so she can make an impact in people’s lives.
Knorr explained that this project allowed him to combine research with something that he’s passionate about.
Knorr’s organization, which focuses on local awareness of down syndrome, resonates closely with him, because his twin sister has this disability, and the same charity helped his family when they were in need.
He said, “I am very proud and excited about earning the $100 for this charity because they played a big part in helping my sister and it feels great to give back.” He also explained how part of his success was from spreading lots of awareness to people about this topic.
Larazzo selected a charity dedicated to helping people that have gone through or are currently going through physical abuse and domestic violence.
She said, “My mom was in a bad situation in her past relationship, so I wanted to contribute to helping people in similar situations.”
All three students expressed how happy it made them to be able to help earn money for these charities and spread awareness for their causes.
Their projects show how assignments in the classroom can go beyond academics and make a direct impact on the community.