Project Goodness, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded by Alli Seigel in 2010 at the culmination of her acclaimed “365 Days of Goodness” project, where Seigel blogged every day for a year as she completed daily acts of goodness ranging from fun and simple gestures (handing out wishing pennies, buying a stranger a cup of coffee) to grander projects such as volunteering in Latin America (365daysofgoodness.com). Along the way, Seigel collected more than 40,000 fans of her blog, inspiring them to spread the goodness. One of Seigel’s most impactful activities was a course she taught at a local public elementary school, inspiring the creation of Project Goodness. Project Goodness has now been implemented in seven public schools in Los Angeles. In August 2010, Project Goodness was awarded a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant and has been featured on their website. Project Goodness provides a standards-based service-learning and character education program to fifth graders in elementary school throughout Los Angeles. Over the course of each ten week program, children learn what it means to be a philanthropist, why people volunteer, and the value of selflessness. Students reflect on their own lives as they learn about challenges faced by others throughout the world and even in their own neighborhoods. Students work together to produce a Goodness Project in a realm they choose: children, animals or the planet. They set goals and work collaboratively as they learn about a designated charity and the need it serves, raise money, participate in service-learning projects, and educate their peers and families via presentations and student-planned events. Students uniformly express their pride and excitement in the program, and the realization that they can make a positive difference in our world, because “every little bit counts!”Specialties: elementary school teaching, non-profit management, organizational skills, character education, service-learning