ATLANTA (May 16, 2025) — Students at Big Blue Marble Academy (BBMA) around Atlanta recently collected change to provide pre- and postnatal care for more than 44 mothers and their babies at Rotifunk Hospital in Sierra Leone, Africa, as part of its “Change for a Change” project.  

In total, the young learners at BBMA Acworth, Paulding, Woodstock, Powder Springs, Windy Hill, McDonough, Starr’s Mill, Bailey Station, Newnan, Rocky Branch, Athens, Hickory Flat, Canton, Duluth, Monroe, Grayson, Johns Creek and Dunwoody raised $4,457, which directly benefits the new families. This initiative is part of BBMA’s community Heart Projects that aim to teach important service learning skills and illustrate the impact the efforts young children can have on their world.  

Throughout March and April, the students not only collected change to benefit Mission of Hope’s Madonna project at the hospital, but they also learned that mothers need healthy food, clean water, and doctors so that they can have healthy babies. The children play an active role in this effort, making posters to inform the community of the need, asking for change to help the mothers and babies, and brainstorming locations to display their posters to help generate awareness and attract donations. 

As the change was collected through weekly in-classroom competitions and other fun events, the children were responsible for counting and rolling it into coin containers, as well as creating cards for the new mothers visiting Rotifunk Hospital. While the young children count their change, they tally their efforts in terms of how many “mommies” their change is able to support versus the total dollar amount raised — to further drive home the impact. “

At Big Blue Marble Academy, we want to empower our young learners to understand they have the ability to make a difference in the lives of others – whether they live next door or across the world, ” said Donna Whittaker, Vice President of Curriculum and Education at Big Blue Marble Academy. “Change for a Change is about more than just collecting money. Rather, it helps our students develop important social-emotional skills, like empathy and mindfulness, while also  strengthening their practical math and writing abilities.”  Collectively, students across all of BBMA’s locations raised $52,516.39 – enough to provide care for 525 new mothers.

 About Big Blue Marble Academy:

Blue Marble Academy operates 93 schools serving more than 14,000 students, providing early care, preschool, after-school care, and summer camp for children ages 6 weeks to twelve years. BBMA nurtures little minds through a robust preschool curriculum that ensures children are developmentally, socially, and emotionally prepared for kindergarten and beyond. Its emphasis on global awareness and character development teaches children invaluable lessons, growing big hearts that are ready and eager to take on the world. To learn more, visit: bbmacademy.com.