We Have Received New and Exciting Information about our Project

Great News!
We have learned from our Kenyan contact that the $2200.00 our class donated to Burning Bush Kenya is currently being used to help educate about 50 students! Wow! Our money has been placed in a revolving account and is loaned out to families to cover tuition for one term of school. The loan is repaid within two months and then can be re-loaned for the following term. Don't forget that this project was begun with a mere 64 cents. Only God can take 64 cents and educate 50 students in a country with one of the lowest literacy rates on Earth!
Our prayers were answered!

$2250.30 Raised and Donated in our Banding Together Project!

This is our final entry in the Banding Together Blogspot.
Our project was a success!

We raised $2250.30 to aid micro-lending in Kenya! That's a

351,509.375% increase!


If you have followed our blog, you know that we began with an idea to see if 64 cents could make a difference in someone's life. So, we purchased rubberbands, made a rubberband ball and offered it for trade-up on our blog. We continued trading for bigger and better items until now. Here is the ending to our story. We have just donated the entire amount earned from our trades - $2250.30 - to help the people of Kenya. You can see the entire project by reading through the older posts of this blog.




Mrs. Cochrane, our teacher, is surrounded by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Cover, the owners of the beautiful guitar at the last trade!



YIPPEE! Our Banding Together project is completed and successful. The guitar and ukulele were both sold and all the funds were donated to Burning Bush Inc. to provide micro-loans in Kenya. Mr. and Mrs. Cover purchased the one of a kind guitar that was hand painted by Mark Camden. As the Covers said, "Have you ever imagined that a rubber band could lead to feeding a family, providing employment, or giving hope to a village?" Well, that's exactly what happened in this case.


Dr. Jim Thomas, returned for the final trade. Dr. Thomas made the first trade and is the owner of our famous rubberband ball.

Colin Keith, the student who had the idea of trading-up, presents the money to Mrs. Poppy Buchanan and her daughter, Mary Barr. These women represent Burning Bush Inc. and have made many trips to Kenya as registered nurses. To read more about this work, or possibly help, check out: http://www.burningbushkenya.org/.

Many thanks to those of you who have followed this blog and prayed for our effort. Our prayers follow this money as it goes to Kenya and changes lives. In closing, we remember why we did this. Philippians2:4, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Go With God!

Mrs. Cochrane's Seventh grade class

YIPPEE!!!! Our Guitar and Ukulele Sold!

We are so excited to tell you that both our items have sold for full value. We will be able to donate $2200.00 to aid micro-lending in Kenya through Burning Bush, Inc. Stay tuned for all the terrific details soon. We can't wait to share them with you.

Help Us Make the World A Better Place by Trading Up!

We are ready and anxious to trade up with you and raise money to help rid our world of poverty! Mrs. Cochrane's seventh grade class at David Lipscomb in Nashville has studied the standard of living in poverty-stricken countries around the world and we are ready to tackle the problem. Last year, the seventh graders started this project with a mere sixty-four cents and purchased rubber bands to make a rubber band ball. The goal was to trade over and over for something of greater value. In the end, we will sell or auction our final item and donate all the money to aid micro-lending around the world.
Right now we own two very special musical instruments. We have a hand-painted guitar with an appraisal of $2000.00 and an antique ukulele valued at $200.00. And, remember that this all started with a rubber-band ball.
We are ready to trade-up with you!

If you are a collector of beautiful pieces, or if you just happen to be a compassionate person wanting to join us in making the world a better place, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Email our teacher, Mrs. Cochrane at rita.cochrane@lipscomb.edu with any trade offer.
Check out our archives on this blog to see all the fascinating trade-ups last year. We even were featured on T.V. and in the newspaper for our project and won a National Izzit Award!
Please know that 100% of our proceeds will be donated to rid our world of poverty. We want to hear of any offer! We are ready to trade to make the World a better place for all!

We are out for the summer!!!!

Mrs. Cochrane's class is now officially on SUMMER VACATION! However, we would still love to either trade-up our guitars, or even sell them. If you have any offer for us, please contact our teacher at rita.cochrane@lipscomb.edu. Remember that we are anxious to aid micro-lending in Kenya. All the proceeds (100%) will be donated to raise the standard of living for those less fortunate. Happy Trades and Happy Summer!
Mrs. Cochrane's Seventh Grade Class

Now We Have TWO Guitars to Trade!!

Bria, Kaleigh, Elly, and Mrs. Cochrane took our one-of-a-kind guitar to the 4 Amigos guitar show in Franklin, TN this weekend. Although we did not get a "trade up", we did meet lots of great guitar fans willing to help our cause. Mr. Jimmy Clanton, a high school teacher from Birmingham, AL donated a vintage ukulele to help raise money for micro loans. The ukulele has a value of approximately $200 - $250. ( Mr. Clanton also owns "Vintage Instruments, Single-Action Guns and Antiques" and can be reached at jimmylclanton@yahoo.com) Two other wonderful, anonymous guitar fans donated money to be added to our final amount. What a great group of musicians these were!
So, now we have our original Mark Camden, hand-painted guitar (with a legal, written appraisal of $2000) along with a vintage ukulele and we want to trade with YOU!
We will consider any item/service valued at more than the $2250 that we currently possess. Remember that we began this project with only a rubber band ball and now are up to $2250 in value. Also, remember that by trading up with us, you will help cure poverty around the world. All proceeds from the sale of our final item at the end of April will be donated to aid poverty stricken countries around the world. Do you have something in the attic or garage that you don't use anymore? If it is worth more than what we have, make us an offer. Contact our teacher, Mrs, Cochrane with all offers at rita.cochrane@lipscomb.edu We can't wait to hear from you.
Happy Trades.
Mrs. Cochrane's Seventh Graders

p.s. A special thanks to "Classic Ax" who helped us by putting new strings on the guitar and donating a guitar case. If you are in the Nashville area and need a great guitar repairman, check out Classic Ax and ask for Greg. http://www.classicax.com/
Also, thanks to Mr. Dave Crocker of 4 Amigos guitar show for allowing us to come.

We have a NEW TRADE! Take a look!

Take a look at our new trade!

Our class traded the Persian rug that was donated by singing legend RICK DERRINGER with Mrs. Ginger Turner for a hand-made and hand-painted collector's guitar. We have the legal appraisal for the guitar priced at $2000.00! The appraiser's description of the guitar is, "This guitar is a D-size Acoustic Guitar (unknown maker), featuring Exotic Laminated European Rosewood back and sides with a spruce top and maple neck. It was hand painted by Mark Camden, a well-known artist in the Smokey Mountain area. The painting is done in a Southwestern Indian Art Style. The value of this guitar would be placed at $2000."

Rick Derringer was still in Nashville and kind enough to come to our school and participate in this trade, also. It was fun having a celebrity at our school. We were even on WSMV channel 4 news that night. HOW FUN!!!

Matthew and Seth hold up the Persian rug as rock and roll singing legend Rick Derringer tells the t.v. camera why he chose to get involved in our Banding Together project. (Mr. Derringer is very famous for his songs "Hang on Sloopy" and "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo". Today, you will find his songs on Guitar Hero 2.)

Collin Keith, the 7th grader who told us of the trading-up concept, gets his picture made with both of our traders, Rick Derringer and Mrs. Ginger Turner. Isn't this guitar INCREDIBLE! And, it has been held by RICK DERRINGER!

Now, our job is to find someone who wants to trade-up for this guitar. Remember, we started with a rubberband ball and we have traded- up to this guitar. We plan to continue trading up until the end of April at which time we will sell or auction our final item and donate all the money to aid micro-lending in poverty-stricken countries around the world. If you can help us with this project, please contact our teacher, Mrs. Cochrane, at rita.cochrane@lipscomb.edu

Happy Trades!

Mrs. Cochrane's seventh grade class at David Lipscomb Middle in Nashville, TN