Project Heart in Action: Teacher Case Studies
Real Classrooms.
Real Impact.
Discover how educators across grade levels and subjects have woven Project Heart into their classrooms — inspiring students to connect personal passions with purposeful action. Each story is a blueprint you can adapt.
Featured Case Study
More Teacher Case Studies
These examples from past projects are meant to spark your imagination and show what's possible when students channel their passion into action.
Julia Halualani
When Animals Lead the Way: A 3rd Grade Dual Language Philanthropy Story
Julia Halualani's 3rd graders voted to help the Wild Animal Sanctuary, then used 3D printers and a school Multicultural Festival to raise $550 for their cause.
Jake Franklin
24 Groups, One Goal: Middle School Innovation and the Power of Student-Led Philanthropy
Jake Franklin's 7th-grade Innovation students organized river cleanups, built bike repair programs, and raised over $8,000 for causes they chose themselves.
Janelle Joers
From the Classroom to the Community: How One ELA Teacher Built a School-Wide Day of Service
Janelle Joers turned Project Heart into a school-wide Day of Service - 150+ students, 13 nonprofits, one day. 93% of students wanted to do it again.
Christian Ludwig
Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurs: How Design Thinking and Philanthropy Collide at VIDA
Christian Ludwig's middle school incubator blends design thinking and Project Heart into a class where students use real skills to help real people - from pandemic supply wagons to animal sanctuary campaigns.
Jennifer McCoy
From Global Goals to Local Action: Project Heart Meets the IB Exhibition
Jennifer McCoy connects Project Heart to Riffenburg's 5th-grade IB Exhibition - students link personal passions to the UN's SDGs, then take real action: pillowcases for hospitalized kids, plastic bag drives, campus legacy spaces.
Charles Luce
Building More Than Benches: How 8th Graders Transformed Their School with Project Heart
Charles Luce's 8th graders built outdoor benches, a DIY gaga ball pit, and a stronger sense of community - real solutions to real needs at a school that had nearly tripled in size.
Projects with a Purpose: When Engineering Meets Philanthropy
What if every engineering project solved a real problem for a real person? The result is a complete downloadable unit that any educator can adapt, with or without a full makerspace.