After last year’s success at raising $62,000 for a girls’ school in Pakistan, the GPS Robin Hood committee this year has turned its sights to a school closer to home, the new all-girls charter school, Chattanooga Girls’ Leadership Academy.
Maxine Bailey, executive director of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy Foundation, shared her enthusiasm and passion for building CGLA with the Robin Hood committee, inspiring the students to inspire others. “If we can help a school for girls halfway across the world, why can’t we help one here?” asked Natalie Berg, senior Robin Hood chair in announcing the theme for the Oct. 27-31 effort.
All of this year’s profits, therefore, will go to CGLA to help with building renovations, laptop purchases, and other needs.
With a theme of “In Our Own Backyard,” the weeklong fundraiser involves cake walks, raffles, and inflatable obstacle courses, as well as the sales of crafts, baked goods, and fair trade items from World Next Door, the Chattanooga business that donates 20% of the week’s profits to Robin Hood. Bags, hand knit hats, and jewelry were popular items with shoppers.
Something new this year is the daily “Drive in Five” project. Girls are asked to bring in canned goods, paper products, children’s toys, and other items to contribute to a specific day’s local organization such as the Food Bank or Children’s Home. The project is a grade competition for spirit points and will be a way to help community groups as well.
Students and their parents are encouraged to support the local focus by volunteering together to accumulate over 60,000 volunteer hours to local causes this school year.