This past Fall, we brought the Team Kids Challenge to Arredondo Elementary School and Aguilar Elementary School in Tempe, Arizona. See the 5-week challenge which engaged 151 leadership team students at Arredondo and Aguilar.
Director of Wraparound Services for the Tempe Elementary School District, Michele Grimaldi, shares her thoughts about Team Kids and its impact on students. “Team Kids provides our elementary students with a format for practicing leadership and advocacy for something higher than themselves. This program gives students the opportunity to voice their preference on a cause to support. Leadership skills begin in elementary school, having the Team Kids program in our district is value added in experiences outside of the classroom setting.”
Towards the end of the challenge, the leadership teams from each school organized a student-run carnival to raise money for their charity of choice. The students from Arredondo raised $157.19 for Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation organization dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. At Aguilar, the students raised $91.08 for Phoenix Children’s, a local hospital dedicated to advancing hope, healing and the best healthcare for children and their families.
Students on the leadership teams of Arredondo and Aguilar shared what they learned being a part of the Team Kids Challenge:
“That I’m not too young to make a difference and that if we work together as a team, we can make an even bigger difference.” – Collin
“I learned by doing a couple small things, you can really change somebody’s life.” – Aubryelle
The Team Kids Challenge program also runs in California, New York, and Virginia. Once completing the Team Kids Challenge, students are encouraged to continue making a difference through our newest initiative, Team Kids Unite.
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