Livingston—JKHA 2nd graders finished reading their first class novel, 100 Dresses, a story of a girl who draws 100 pictures of dresses and hangs them up in her closet. She can’t afford to buy new dresses and the girls in her class are teasing her because she wears the same dress every day.

This thought provoking and ultimately compassionate story inspired the students to organize a clothing drive for people who don’t have enough money to buy clothes. First, the class sent home a letter to parents asking them for clothing donations. Next, the students collected all the clothing in their classrooms. Then, the classes sorted the clothing into different categories and organized them into neat bundles to donate. The students dragged the large bundles to their teacher’s car and loaded the donated clothing into the trunk to be delivered.

100 Dresses is a book steeped in lessons of friendship, empathy, and compassion and this 2nd grade project really gave the students the opportunity to turn their learning into action and make these valuable lessons into a real act of chesed.

By Rachel Ginsberg