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Public Generosity Projects Help Youth Learn by Giving
The program was organized at other schools in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, with students finding ways to help others. Pay It Forward is the title of a novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde, published in 2000, and a motion picture based on the book about doing something good without expecting anything in return. In the story, a teacher asks students to come up with an idea that could change the world and put it into action. One student decides he will do something good for three people, and when they ask how they can pay him back, he tells them to “pay it forward” to three other people. As the good deeds multiply, the movement will eventually spread around the world.
worked individually and in groups. They had one week to write a plan, two weeks to put it into action, and they completed the project just before Christmas with a series of presentations describing what they did. The group responsible for the stuffed animals contacted the hospital to see if the Emergency Room (ER) would like to have the toys. They announced their plan to other students at St. Ignace Area Schools and set up drop boxes. Students took the donated stuffed animals home, cleaned them, and sorted them by size. The project was exceptionally successful, Mrs. Olsen said. Not only did the stuffed animals go to the ER, they were also placed in ambulances, doctors offices, and were delivered to residents at the Long Term Care Facility at the hospital.
The stuffed-animal project was only one of several. Other groups collected food for the St. Ignace Food Pantry, each in a different way. One group stood outside Glen’s Market asking for donations, Mrs. Olsen said. Another group raised money by collecting soda cans for the deposit, then called the Pantry to see what kinds of items were lacking. Pantry workers gave them a shopping list, and the students bought what was needed, Mrs. Olsen said. Yet another group held a bake sale, which raised approximately $600 dollars for a girl with leukemia who will go to Grand Rapids for a bone marrow transplant. The Mackinac County Animal Shelter also benefited from the flood of youthful generosity. Some students worked there. Others raised money and bought things the shelter needed, such as blankets and paper towels. Elderly people in the area also received help from the students. Some seventh graders helped them retrieve holiday decorations from storage. Others helped them put the decorations up, and others simply asked elderly people in their neighborhoods what they needed help doing, and did it, Mrs. Olsen said. Not only did long term care residents receive stuffed animals, one group of students raised money by baby-sitting, collecting soda cans, and other means, and used their funds to buy bingo prizes. Wednesday, December 13, they participated in a bingo game at the facility by helping residents cover their bingo cards and distributing the prizes. The project was good for the students, Mrs. Olsen said, and some students want to continue their projects this winter. Les Cheneaux Elementary The week before school was dismissed for the holidays at Les Cheneaux Elementary, posters appeared in the hallways promoting students’ wishes to help homeless people, children with diabetes, and local emergency services workers, part of a Pay It Forward project launched by school librarian Shelly Reid. Inspired by Oprah Winfrey, who gives $1,000 to her television audience to use as they wish, Mrs. Reid gave each fifth grade student an imaginary $1,000 check and asked them to help others. Pairs of students used their library hour to research ways to spend their money, then made posters to promote their beneficiaries. “I thought it would be interesting to see what fifth graders would do with their money,” Mrs. Reid said, “although the whole idea was to learn about helping others.” Student enthusiasm in Cedarville is evident in the splashy posters on the school walls. One poster declares, “Building Back New Orleans,” an American flag in the background. Others want to give their money to Habitat for Humanity, or give food, clothing, and shelter directly to those who need it. “Help the Homeless” is the most common theme. Ten students have decided they want to spend their money on that. The second most popular cause is homeless and abandoned pets. Two students want to pay the emergency services training tuition for 16 people to be certified as emergency medical technicians and fill Clark Township’s need for volunteers. One fifth grade student’s recent diagnosis with diabetes inspired students to pay the medical bills and future college tuition for a seven-year-old girl with diabetes. Pickford Students Help Iraqi Children The generosity and public service of youth is a focus of other programs in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, too. In Pickford earlier this year, middle school students, Josh Leach and Tony Stefanski assembled packets of school supplies and collected more than 30 blankets for children in Iraq. The students are members of Family, Community, and Careers Leaders of America (FCCLA), and charitable projects are part of the group’s activities. The school supplies included pencils, erasers, pencil bags, and notebooks and are distributed through a national initiative called Operation Iraqi Children. Organizers say the kits provide a sense of hope to children in the war-ravaged country. The project was suggested by Robert Bosley, who served in Iraq as a member of the 1437th Engineering Corps. Mr. Bosley is also a member of the American Legion Post 323 of Pickford, which donated the postage to mail the boxes packed with blankets and school supplies. “We welcomed this opportunity to support the kids in this worthwhile project,” said Stan Kennedy of Post 323. “This is one of the spontaneous projects initiated by a veteran from the Legion.” Mr. Bosley, who lives in Goetzville, also works at Pickford Public Schools, and suggested the project to FCCLA leader and teacher Kathy Jacobson, “and they just took the ball and ran with it,” Mr. Bosley said. “This really took off like a wildfire,” Mr. Bosley added, noting that he has seen, first hand, the devastation caused by the war. “These things are particularly hard on the children.” Working in a school himself, the pictures he has seen of children returning to school, wearing their uniforms, in war-torn regions struck a chord with him. “The blankets, you wouldn’t think would be needed in a place where temperatures reach as high as 120 to 130 degrees,” he said. “But it gets down to 70 degrees and less at night. It does get pretty cold at night.” Both students said they were happy to help out the needy children in Iraq. Packages for Soldiers Cedarville fourth grade students sent Christmas packages to soldiers in Iraq. Under the leadership of teacher Christi Smith, they assembled and mailed packages to Kyle Slater of Cedarville, Rand Litzner of St. Ignace, and Daniel Brodbeck, a friend of Cedarville teacher Diane Cochran. After deciding on that project, the students wanted to complete two more. Forgoing classroom gift exchange, the students decided to use the money they would usually for presents for charitable causes. When parents discovered what the students were doing, they also pitched in, sending supplies and items for the packages to school. “They went way over their $5 limit,” Mrs. Smith said. With their own savings and the contributions of their families, the students were able to make five blankets for Project Linus, a charity that gives blankets to children in hospitals. They delivered the blankets to local coordinator Colleen Sparks of Sault Ste. Marie. They also made sugar cookies and hot chocolate to take to the residents of Cedar Cove Assisted Living Center in Cedarville. Mrs. Smith said the students had a strong interest in going there for the holidays, so they walked as a class to the center and shared the sweets with residents. “Everybody loved it,” Mrs. Smith said, describing how one resident even invited the students to her apartment after the snacks to visit and see her cat. Mrs. Smith called this year’s projects “Through Giving Is Receiving,” and stressed the theme throughout the weeks before Christmas break. “My purpose was for them to understand that Christmas isn’t just about getting, it’s also about giving,” Mrs. Smith said. When asked whether students need encouragement to be generous, Mrs. Smith said “I think they come by it naturally.” “I found that when you give them an avenue through which they can express generosity, they often go above and beyond,” she said. |
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