Students at Gettysburg Elementary making a global impact

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Five people in Ethiopia will be getting the help they need to pay for surgeries thanks to a class of fifth and sixth graders at Gettysburg Elementary School in Clovis.

What started as a lesson on global income inequality for Mr. Maddox's class quickly turned into a school-wide effort to help people in Ethiopia.

"We felt like since we had so much money and they didn't, like if someone was sick or injured, they can't pay to have a surgery or to have treatment, we decided we wanted to help pay for that for them," explained Ben Giesel, a 6th grader in Mr. Maddox's class.

The students set a goal: raise $800 to help two people pay for surgeries, and they got to work.

"We got a bunch of oranges, a bunch of bracelets and art and ended up selling it," 6th grader in Mr. Maddox's class, Conrad Moore said.

The kids got creative with how to advertise their products, even creating a newscast.

The students went to other classrooms, Open House and Grandparent's Day.

"We talked to them about why we are raising the money, what we are doing when we're going to do it, and it pretty much gave us a boost in our selling," 5th grader in Mr. Maddox's class, Julayah Escovedo explained.

After a few weeks of sales, the kids blew past their $800 goal.

They ended up raising more than $2,000, enough to cover five surgeries in Ethiopia.

"That was like way beyond what I thought was actually going to happen," Moore said.

Beyond their original social studies lesson, these students also learned valuable life lessons.

"It really made me feel grateful for how much I have, and it felt good that we got to help them out because they don't have as much as we do," Escovedo said.

In addition to the monetary donation, the students also sent the patients a class photo and wrote them a letter.

They are waiting to hear back from them about life in Ethiopia.

They say this couldn't have happened without the help and support of their school, parents and the Gettysburg Elementary community.

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