Watertown Middle School has entered a contest to get money to remodel the home economics room.
Watertown Middle School’s project to fix up an old home economics kitchen has been selected as a semifinalist in a national competition and now organizers need help from businesses and people in the community.
The school entered the Ultimate Neighborhood Give Back Challenge, in which projects from around the country compete to be selected to win a $50,000 prize to help make the project a reality.
The money would be used to buy new appliances, counters and more to fix up an unused home economics kitchen. The updated kitchen would be used in the Integrated Life Skills program, which teaches students with special needs to be self-sufficient by focusing on personal responsibility, independence and appropriate interactions. One part of the program is learning to cook.
The kitchen would also be used by health classes at the middle school.
The project moved on to the semifinal round based on the number of votes and the merits of the project. In this round, Watertown Middle School teacher Maria Woods said, the project needs not only votes but also to show how the community will come together to support the project.
“We are looking for local small businesses to contribute in any way: material donations, financial sponsorship, volunteer services, etc.,” Woods said. “Any contractors, plumbers, electrician, etc. would be particularly helpful.”
“We would love local families to sign up as volunteers for helping create the space as well!”
Students will be creating a video to submit as part of the contest, and Woods said anyone who contacts the middle school by the afternoon of Friday, June 20 can have their business featured in the video as a supporter.
Please contact Maria Wood at Maria.Wood@watertown.k12.ma.us, or at 786-487-7011.
To vote for the Watertown Middle School project click here. Voting ends on July 8.