Fundraising Superstars

Every Friday, on their way home from school, Omar’s grandmother would take him to visit Star Barn.

Omar had named it because the farmer had painted the outside dark blue, and then splashed whites and yellows across it. It made the barn look like a starry sky on a clear night.

Inside Star Barn lived lots of different animals. What types of animals do you think might live in a barn?

The farmer would let Omar play with the animals: feeding them, cleaning them, and sometimes just having a chat with them.

But on this particular Friday, Omar ran up the pebble drive to discover planks of star-dotted wood scattered across the ground. Where Star Barn used to be, a large tree – that had toppled over on its side – now lay.

The farmer was collecting the pieces of the broken barn. Seeing Omar’s shocked face, they explained: ‘That awful storm last week knocked down some trees and destroyed the barn.’

‘Where are the animals?’ Omar asked, worried about their safety. Usually Omar could hear the animals from the bottom of the drive, but today it was silent. What types of noises do you think the animals would make?

‘It’s okay, Omar. The big animals are staying in my friend’s barn, and little animals are staying in the farmhouse with me.’

Omar was happy the animals were being looked after, and asked: ‘When will Star Barn be fixed, so that the animals can come home?’

The farmer looked sad. He explained the barn would cost too much money to fix, so most of the animals would have to be given to other farmers across the country. The farmer continued picking up pieces of star-dotted wood, with tears in his eyes.

That’s when Omar had a genius idea. He told his grandmother on the way home, and together they spent all weekend working on it.

On Monday morning, Omar carried a bag of salt dough stars into school. He had used a star-shaped cookie cutter to shape them: squeezing the squidgy dough between his fingers. What do you think the dough felt like?

When the stars were dry, he had painted them dark blue, and decorated them with white and yellow dots.

He sold his stars every lunchtime in the canteen, and at home time by the pick-up spot, every day for a week.

By Friday, he had made enough money from selling stars to save Star Barn. The farmer was able to build a bigger and better barn, and Omar helped paint it with stars of every shape, size and colour. The animals loved their new home, and slept happily every night in their beds beneath the stars.

By Livia Carron