Volunteering With Legacy

Scholastic: What is your project and why did you start it?
Legacy: My organization, Little Legacies, connects kids with volunteer opportunities. My mom and I have always volunteered for community service projects together, and there was usually no one else my age there. So in 2016, I decided to create a group specifically for kids to volunteer and help the community. Little Legacies meets once a month. We announce each event on social media, and up to 30 kids volunteer. We always incorporate something fun to motivate kids to join us. We collaborate to choose projects that everyone in the group is excited to participate in.

Scholastic: What’s the best part of running your project?
Legacy: We do a lot of different projects, like making cards for seniors and kids in the hospital. We’ve sent 3,000 pairs of shoes to people in need in Africa. We took 20 girls living in a homeless shelter to a professional dance studio and taught them a dance class, then put on a recital. As volunteers, we’re not just helping other people—we’re all together and giving back to one another. We’re all getting something from being there.

Scholastic: What’s the most difficult  part?
Legacy: We can only do so many projects each year. So we choose based on the urgency of the problem and how we can help. For example, someone in our group might say they saw a kid going into foster care using a trash bag to carry their belongings. So we would organize a luggage drive and have a celebration while passing out the sets. Since kids are the ones volunteering, we want them to have fun!

Scholastic: What math do you use to plan your projects?
Legacy: We provide everything volunteers need to participate, like snacks and transportation. That means we need a budget for every event. We estimate the cost per participant, then ask for sponsors on social media. We also need to make sure we can afford all of the materials for the project.

Scholastic: What advice do you have  for other kids?
Legacy: Community service projects don’t have to be big, but everyone can do something. And it’s important to keep your word and follow through on your projects. People are depending on you!

Key Math Idea:
Budgeting

From 2023 to 2024, Little Legacies worked on a project to create a new play space at a homeless shelter. Legacy made a budget to estimate the cost of the project and determine how much money to raise. A budget is an estimate of expected income and expenses over a certain period of time. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.