Miss Hollie Cicalese’s 3rd and 4th grade art classes at Ridgeway School participated in the Fundred Dollar Bill Project.  They each designed their own Fundred Dollar Bill, which they then chose to donate.  The bills will be sent to New Orleans to help raise awareness about soil contamination in that city. 

What is the Fundred Dollar Bill Project?

New Orleans, due to years of pollution, has a soil contaminated by dangerous lead. A project called Operation Paydirt is trying to help.  One part of this project is called the Fundred Dollar Bill Project.  An artist named Mel Chin created Safehouse, a sculpture in the middle of a New Orleans neighborhood.  Chin transformed an entire house into a sculpture with a huge vault door. 

The goal of the Fundred Dollar Bill Project is the creation and collection of three million bills, which will be brought to the Safehouse in New Orleans and hung on the walls.  Once three million Fundred Dollar Bills are collected, they will be picked up in a big armored truck and driven to Washington, DC to raise awareness and funding to heal the environment in New Orleans. 

Congress will be asked to trade 300 million dollars in funds and services to support Operation Paydirt in exchange for three million Fundred Dollar Bills.