Weekly Roundup: October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
Turning $100 into over $600 for Special Olympics athletes is just one inspiring example of our Benjamin Project students in action! In this roundup, a California student donates beds and toys to a local cat sanctuary, a Minnesota student raises funds for her brother's Special Olympics team, and a Colorado student creates care kits for local teachers. Plus, hear from a Minnesota student who saw history come alive beyond classroom textbooks while exploring Washington, D.C. and New York City.
Hank - California
With the $100 I bought cat food, toys, cat beds and a cat tunnel to donate to Kittyland.
Kinley - Minnesota
With my $100 I raised an additional $526, and I bought my brother's Special Olympics Team gift cards to Scheels so then they can buy the things they need to do practices and games because they are not getting the money they need to buy all of the equipment.
Callie - Colorado
I absolutely loved what I got to do with my $100. I used my $100 to purchase supplies for our Community Service Day that is held at my school. On this day we were making bags for alternate license teachers in our area. So, with the money we purchased classroom supplies such as pencils, pens, glue sticks, sticky notes, fidgets and pencil top erasers, we purchased fun treats like Hershey kisses and lifesavers, and we bought each of the teachers an emergen-c. It was so much fun and I'd love to do it again!
Matthew - Minnesota
Thank you so much for giving me the scholarship that allowed me to go on this amazing trip. I had an absolute blast, and I learned so many new things that I will never forget. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
Washington, D.C. was an incredible place to start our journey. It was awesome to see all of the massive monuments and memorials in person after hearing about them for so long. My favorite part of D.C. was definitely the Holocaust Museum. It was a very powerful and serious place, and it really made me think deeply about history and the world.
Even though D.C. was great, I think I liked New York City even more! The energy there was crazy. It was so cool to walk around Times Square and look up at all of the bright, glowing billboards and towering skyscrapers. We also got to go see a real Broadway show, which was a fantastic experience that felt super magical. Out of the whole trip, my absolute favorite places to visit were the 9/11 Museum and the Holocaust Museum. Both of them were put together so well, and seeing the historical artifacts up close really brought the history to life.
It was really neat to see the actual things we have been learning about in our social studies classes right in front of my eyes. Seeing the monuments in person is so much different than just looking at pictures in a school textbook. Plus, our tour guide did a wonderful job keeping us entertained. They explained everything perfectly and told us really cool stories that helped us connect to the history of each city.
This trip was so much fun, and I made tons of unforgettable memories with my classmates. Thank you again for your generosity and for providing the funding to help me go on this adventure. It is an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life!
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