In a corner of Jodi McMahon's classroom at Oak Grove Elementary, a group of students reclines on the floor reading books.

A similar scene unfolds down the hall in Lara McMahan's classroom.

The sheer number of students sitting quietly with their books was enough to give any teacher goose pimples, but the school's read-a-thon wasn't just about quiet or even reading. It was about the MicMac Give Back, a third-grade version of Oprah's Big Give, the TV series about do-gooders on missions to help the needy.

This, of course, wasn't the first time Oprah has inspired such action. But it may be the first time a group of third-graders in DeKalb County have tried to raise $10,000 in a month.

It started early last month when volunteer Phyllis Abramson, known affectionately around Oak Grove as Grams, talked to the two classes about the importance of giving back to their community.

She told them about African kids walking miles to get clean water. She told them about girls who couldn't go to school because it was their responsibility to make the four-mile trek for water each day.

Then Abramson told them about the work she has been doing with the Atlanta Downtown Rotary. The agency has built 100 wells in Kenya and is now busy raising money to build 600 more in Africa.

Could we do that, asked one of the students? Could we buy a well?

McMahon, the Mic in the MicMac, looked at McMahan, the Mac. They had been talking to the students about getting involved, trying to impress upon them that even the smallest effort can make a big difference. Now the chance to show them had presented itself.

Yeah, the teachers said.

But it didn't have to be in Africa. It could be in another part of the world. Several times over the years, McMahan had spearheaded class efforts to raise money for disaster relief, for the victims of the tsunami in Asia and Hurricane Katrina, each time raising about $1,000.

Abramson told the class, depending on the kind of well they wanted to build, it would cost as little as $4,000 or as much as $10,000.

The MicMacs thought that was a lot, but they gave the classes their full support. First, they'd have to make a presentation to the Oak Grove faculty. At the faculty meeting, students took 10 minutes to lay out their plan. They called their campaign The MicMac Give Back. Their slogan: "We're shooting for the stars and following our hearts." They wanted to build a well in Nicaragua, through an organization called Women Thrive.

"It was so inspirational, you could've heard a pin drop," said Carmen Dillard, the DeKalb County school principal.

They were passionate. They believed they could make a difference.

They began as any 8 or 9-year-old would. They opened a lemonade stand. They baked and sold cookies, brownies and muffins. They made and sold ceramics and other items at what they called the MicMac Market. They emptied their piggy banks.

By May 1, they'd raised more than $5,000. By last Monday, they had more than $7,000.

Last week, they held a read-a-thon at the school, collecting donations from friends and family for the type and number of books they read. Ben Thorne pored over "Smiles to Go;" Exzavier Wade, "The Class Trip from the Black Lagoon;" Anna Markowitz, "The Greatest Treasure." Could they read enough to push them over the $10,000 finish line?

Yes, Grams reported at the end of school on Friday. The MicMac Give Back raised a total $12,554, more than enough to build a well or two.

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