Eckstein Middle School is one of only 125 official FUNDRED Collection Centers in the United States. Thanks to the efforts of art teacher Erin Shafkind, the FUNDRED Sous Terre Armored Truck (retro-fitted to run on waste vegetable oil) will be arriving at Eckstein at 1:30 p.m. on February 11, 2010 to collect FUNDREDS.

The FUNDRED DOLLAR BILL PROJECT is an important artwork organized by artist Mel Chin that involves 3 million students and educators working together with leading environmental scientists, health care professionals, landscape architects, and arts organizations to neutralize lead-polluted soil in New Orleans.

The initial phase of the project is a fun and simple classroom project appropriate to introduce though social studies, science, community service, history, political science, or art and design. The 3 million FUNDRED DOLLAR BILL “artworks” individually created by students will be collected by armored truck and delivered to Washington D.C. where an even exchange of the value of their art currency for actual funds will be requested.

The FUNDRED DOLLAR BILL PROJECT supports OPERATION PAYDIRT, an innovative art/science project to address lead-contaminated soil and helping to end to childhood lead poisoning in New Orleans and eventually many other cities.

For more information about Eckstein’s involvement please contact Erin Shafkind (elshafkind@seattleschools.org)

Please visit the project website: www.fundred.org Download or order blank Fundred Templates: http://fundred.org/get-involved/ Lesson plans and more: http://fundred.org/classroom/plans.php