Posted by Ryan Lancaster on 5/4/2023
Trifold posterboards lined the Libby Center’s multipurpose room last week, each flanked by a student proudly presenting research to meandering family members.
No, not a science fair. More of a call to action, led by fifth graders.
Since early January, Shannon Gilfeather’s class at Odyssey has been working on a passion project with a community service twist. 
“I gave them the challenge to pick something that they’re interested in and passionate about and then pushed them to create a connection back to their community,” Shannon said. “We titled the project ‘Be the Change,’ to do individual research into something you love and contribute to the community in which we live.”
Their efforts culminated on Thursday, April 27, with the “Be the Change Family Festival,” which included an array of projects. Several centered on homelessness, environmental concerns, and animal welfare.
Zoey investigated what types of toys make cats happiest, then made and donated a slew of them to local shelters. Kelsey’s presentation explained the mental health benefits of pets, which she hopes may lead more people to adopt one of their own.
Camden made polar fleece dog coats he’ll donate to local homeless shelters for the dogs of unhoused individuals.
“They don’t really have enough money to keep the dogs warm enough during the winter,” he said. “I learned that a dog’s body temperature is usually 102 degrees, which is fever temperature for humans.”
One student wrote a how-to for making and donating no-sew fleece blankets to homeless shelters, while another modeled how 3-D printed houses might provide a longer-term solution to homelessness.
“My project is about how birthday parties affect people who are living in shelters,” said E, who volunteers at St. Margaret’s Shelter with their parents. “There are a lot of homeless children there. Birthday parties increase happiness, hope, and cohesion among their families and others living at the shelters.”
Avoiding fast fashion while supporting local shops, 3-D printing toys for children at Sacred Heart, creating handmade cards and delivering them to the elderly – every project was carefully considered and executed with one central goal in mind – making our world a better place.
“I’m so proud of these students,” Shannon told the gathered group. “They’ve spent the last four months putting their best ingenuity, heart, thought, and soul into these projects. They blew it out of the water.”
