MICKLETON — The East Greenwich Township Schools’ annual Hoops for Soup service project was recently recognized by Character.org as a 2017 National Promising Practice.
Hoops for Soup is organized by the Lunch Bunch at Samuel Mickle School, a 2016 Promising Practice recipient. Lunch Bunch is a student-run organization that promotes and organizes philanthropy projects, service learning, and leadership opportunities for our school community.
Character.org sponsors the annual Promising Practices program to showcase innovative best practices that positively impact students, teachers, and the community. Hoops for Soup is a service project that the East Greenwich community has been participating in for the past seven years.
Students have the opportunity to participate in Hoops for Soup through participation in a foul shooting competition as part of their basketball unit in their physical education classes. Students with the top foul shooting percentage at each grade level are then invited to play in a basketball game alongside their teachers in grades 3 through 5, and against their teachers in grade 6.
Hoops for Soup invites representatives from The Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen and Blessing Store Food Pantry, two local nonprofit organizations, to educate our community about their missions. In addition, spectators and players are required to bring a canned good or boxed food item to support both organizations as their entry ticket into the game.
Each year, they average approximately 25 boxes of donations. Hoops for Soup is an annual event that brings the community together for a great cause.
Mickle Marketplace
The Mickle Marketplace is an entrepreneurship opportunity at Samuel Mickle School. Students who join, independently or in partnership, are working to start their very own business, selling goods or services. Members must complete and sign partnership and loan forms, as well as create business expense plans and, of course, product names and prices.
They are guided through discussions and ideas about developing and following a budget, understanding market competition, setting appropriate prices, and the difference between profit and revenue. Students focus on their personalized vision of a business, develop a higher- order focus and devotion to their plan, and link a fun hobby to creative business projects.
Then, they gather their plans and passions to sell their products at the Mickle Marketplace, a cash-only community event.
