Learning A-Z including Raz-Kids partners with UNICEF Kid Power to be able to motivate students to help others while reading books and completing activities on the Learning A-Z platform. So, if your kid is a user of Raz-Kids, Raz Plus, Headsprout, Science A-Z, Vocabulary A-Z and Writing A-Z, they can help others by donating stars that they earned from their activities on that platform.
Partnership Between UNICEF Kid Power and Learning A-Z to Motivate Students to Give Donation
When UNICEF Kid Power was designing, some research was done by UNICEF and the Games Institute in Santa Barbara and the University of Arizona. From the research that they did, they found that when they connect a deep sense of purpose to an outcome, kids are 55% more active regarding working to that outcome. And until now, giving kids purpose by getting them actively doing good is still the core principle of UNICEF Kid Power.
As explained in the Learning A-Z site, children often ask ‘why’. They ask it because they are encouraged to find an answer, a reason, a purpose behind what they are experiencing or what they should do. So, embedding a sense of purpose in kids is the key to being able to motivate them. If the purpose of doing something is deep and meaningful, kids will feel a stronger sense of classroom community and they will be more motivated. Let’s say that the purpose of what they are doing is to help others, then it will motivate them more.
It is a good thing if the purpose of their activities is to help others. It will not only boost their own literacy skills, social emotional learning competencies, their physical activity, but also they can help others in need.
With those reasons, Learning A-Z and UNICEF Kids Power have partnered to help students improve their literacy skills while helping others. The program that they do is that students who use Raz-Kids, Raz Plus, Headsprout, Science A-Z, Vocabulary A-Z and Writing A-Z are able to convert the stars that they have into virtual coins and they are able to redeem it to give meals for local families in need.
Donation Collected from Students in UNICEF Kid Power Program
From the program which is made by Learning A-Z and UNICEF Kid Power, in 2020, the students throughout the United States who took part in Learning A-Z/UNICEF Classroom Challenge, the donation was collected more than half a billion stars and from these stars, they delivered almost 90,000 meals for hungry families in the U.S.
Then, in the following year, from March 4 to April 30, the students who use Learning A-Z products around the world successfully made a total of 430,273 donations and it used 3.4 billion stars. The stars that they got were from reading books and completing activities on the Learning A-Z platform. So, the more they read books or complete activities, the more stars that they can earn which means that they can donate more. With it, they make a big positive impact.
As reported on Learning A-Z website, in 2021, students could provide 260,633 healthy meals for families in the U.S. and also they provided more than 1.6 million days of clean water to communities around the world. For the classroom which can give the most donations, they will be awarded the chance to co-author a book with Learning A-Z.
According to the report on the Learning A-Z site, students who donated and took part in the donation challenge have a lot to be proud of because they have shown us that the motivation to learn can skyrocket when it is paired with the pursuit of an important purpose. Furthermore, they also explain on that report that students who took part in this challenge read 3x more books, were 3x more active on the Learning A-Z platform, advanced reading levels faster and completed 4x over the average number of activities.
Troy Hickerson as the co-founder of UNICEF Kid Power said that these were kids helping other kids which was very rewarding for students. He also said that some students did not believe that they could be in a position to help others, so when they got to really experience that, they were truly empowered.
Lisa O’Masta, the president of Learning A-Z said that giving students a greater sense of purpose increased their engagement and motivated them to be able to reach new heights in their learning.
About Donation Challenge
In 2020, the students throughout the United States who took part in the Learning A-Z/UNICEF Classroom Challenge, they collected the donation more than half a billion stars and from these stars, they delivered almost 90,000 meals for hungry families in the U.S.
Students who use Learning A-Z everywhere donated stars from March 5 to April 30, 2021 to be able to help others. Students could exceed each and every one of the donation goals and those included the final extended goal of 400K donations. In the United States, students who use Learning A-Z donated meals to hungry U.S. families in the world and the students outside the U.S. who use Learning A-Z donated clean water to families and communities in need in the world.
This year, the classroom which can donate the most stars in the Learning A-Z/UNICEF Classroom Challenge will have the chance to co-author and original book for Learning A-Z. Then, the books will be published and shared with the 12 million students around the world.
About UNICEF and UNICEF Kid Power
UNICEF stands for United Nations Children’s Fund and this organization works with more than 190 countries to pursue a more equitable world for every child. This organization has helped save more the lives of children than any other humanitarian organization. They do it by giving health care and immunizations, safe water and sanitation, education, nutrition, and more.
What about UNICEF Kid Power? It is a free UNICEF USA program which offers interactive videos to be able to help children find how their everyday activities such as learning and moving can make a difference in the world. If kids get active with UNICEF Kid Power, it means that they unlock therapeutic food that UNICEF sends to severely malnourished children around the world. It means that the more kids move and learn, the more lives that they can save.
