Project Clean Hands: We Will Kill the Germs!

When the Philips Elementary Youth Council selected "hand-washing" as their issue of choice to address for the school year, Mr. John Bellamy (the group's advisor) wasn't quite sure what to do. It didn't seem like the kind of issue that could keep a group of energetic kids interested for months on end!

But "Project Clean Hands" proved him wrong - much to his happy surprise! Students were certain that the dirty bar soap in their school bathrooms wasn't the best equipment for a war on flu germs. But they called in the experts to confirm their suspicions.

A doctor from University Hospital visited with the group, demonstrating the proper way to wash hands and the best cleanser to use. He reinforced their research, which indicated that soap dispensers were preferable to bar soap for maintaining student hygeine and reducing sick days.

The students researched the best kinds of soap dispensers, decided on a model that was cost-effective, and wrote a mini-grant to FR Earth Force for the funding - with plans for other fundraising activities, too.

To cultivate support for the project, the students held an assembly, at which they made their case for the new hand soap dispensers. The teachers and other students were totally behind them after that!

The students took their message - complete with a cheer: "We will, we will WASH YOU...and kill the germs!" - to the Annual Youth Summit. Their enthusiastic chant and thorough research earned them second place in the Speak Out Competition!

With only a couple weeks left in the school year, the students were pleasantly surprised to find that the new soap dispensers had been installed, without the students being informed or involved The school administration had implemented the students' request, which made them very happy, but they were a little saddened that they were not included in the process after all their hard work.

Though excited that they had such a big impact, the students still wanted to finish their project with some action that they could take full credit for - every step of the way. They investigated the possibility of hand-sanitizer dispensers in the lunchroom - another germ "problem-area" they identified early in their inventory, and plan to come roaring back next school year!