In February, second grade students at Edyth B. Lindner Campus (EBL) raised hundreds of dollars for veterans through Operation Valentine, the grade’s annual project and fundraiser for Operation Gratitude.

“Every year, each grade in our building decides on two service projects to help promote learning and stewardship,” says Jeannie Mishu, Second Grade Teacher. “Five years ago, we were discussing our service projects and decided on an organization called Operation Gratitude. This is an incredible organization that supports veterans and their families by sending them encouraging letters and care packages.”

At first, second grade teachers saw Operation Gratitude as a chance for students to practice writing letters, a skill learned as part of Grade 2 curriculum. As the partnership progressed, and as the desire for more project learning arose, they realized the grade’s Economics unit was the perfect opportunity for students to practice another skill—entrepreneurship—while cultivating a heart for service.

Since the unit begins in January and coincides with Valentine’s Day, teachers decided creating and selling Valentines and gifts would make for a profitable, and fun, business venture.

“We knew the kids had the capability of creating Valentines digitally on a program they have on their iPads called Wixie,” says Mishu. “Sarah Hendrix partners with us to teach and help us with this step. We then thought to make them more appealing, we would attach a cute 3D eraser or fun pencil.”

To spread the word, students dove headfirst into advertising. Learning from EBL Librarian Jill Honerlaw about ways to advertise, students split into groups to hang posters around campus, craft an announcement to share during morning announcements, make a commercial, and design the store.

Six days before Valentine’s Day, the store opened, and sales poured in. At just 50¢ each, the Valentine’s Day cards and gifts were a hit. But a shift in market interest this year reinforced that successful businesses must adapt and innovate to meet customers’ needs.

“Our pencils were not selling as well because the kids were not as interested in them,” says Mishu, “so we decided to try bendable and scented pencils this year. The students noticed this really excited our customers and caused our sales to be greater than last year.”

Every day, students tracked their profits on the classrooms’ boards.

“They loved seeing their daily income but quickly realized they were not in a profit until Day 2 because of the cost of their expenses,” Mishu says. “It was very eye opening to them.”

This year’s Operation Valentine grossed a whopping $981.55. After expenses, $757.32 remained—every cent going to help veterans through Operation Gratitude.

“In our second grade unit, the students ask questions like, ‘What does God want us to do with our money?’ ‘Who does our money belong to?’ and ‘How can we be good stewards of our money?’” shares Mishu. “We discuss Bible verses like Acts 20:35: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ The kids [this year] were so excited about being good stewards of their money by sending all their profits to Operation Gratitude. We look forward to Operation Valentine again next year with a new set of second graders.”