Cocoa Cares Cooperation, Action, Reflection, Education, Service Changing lives, one bean at a time. Program Outline: Pipkin Cocoa Cares students will attend weekly meetings (Thursday) in Miss Julia Armstrong’s room at Pipkin Middle School. During these meetings students will be presented lessons/information and have discussion time to learn about the area of the Philippines in which Malagos School is located. On selected Thursdays, Drury University students will prepare lessons to teach to the students that focus on teaching about the Philippines while allowing cooperation, discussion and reflection among all students during the learning process. Students will also work to gather supplies and raise funds for any “wish list” items that Malagos School has and send them to the Philippines with the assistance of Askinosie Chocolate and its employees.

During this time they will be able to create video messages to send to the Malagos School to present information on the culture of the Ozarks, Missouri and the United States of America in an effort to strengthen cross cultural communication between the two schools. Students will be encouraged to examine ways they could have a direct and positive impact on the Malagos School. Miss Armstrong will update the Chocolate University blog with Cocoa Cares activities and happenings as they occur. These students will also visit Askinosie Chocolate factory on a monthly basis to learn the process of bean to bar chocolate making and the way in which farmers are chosen to provide the beans to the factory.

In collaboration with Askinosie Chocolate and Drury University, Pipkin Cocoa Cares students will coordinate an annual spring event that is open to the entire school and community to raise awareness of the goals of the Cocoa Cares program and the learning/service that has been occurring through the Cocoa Cares program at Pipkin Middle School. This event will be a “fair” where people can visit different areas of the building to learn about the process of making chocolate from bean to bar and be presented with information about the culture, struggles and successes of the area of the Philippines where Malagos School is located. Monetary donations will be accepted to help support the efforts of the Chocolate University program.

The students would like to have an annual end of the school year celebration with Askinosie Chocolate, and the Drury University students who have taught them. At this celebration they would like to have food from the Philippines. J . Armstrong

12/1/10