Students shop for other
McKenzie Stortz shops for a toy last week on Tuesday. The fourth graders raised money to buy toys that went out with the food baskets.
Eyrah Brown carries back a shopping bag after going to the hardware store to buy a present for the food baskets that were distributed last week.
Clara Davis shops for a present that were put in the food baskets that were delivered last week to families in the county.
Fourth grade students took some time out of school last week to head down to the local pharmacy in Superior and the hardware store to do some much needed Christmas shopping. But the students weren’t shopping for themselves, their parents or for anyone they knew. The students were buying toys for the baskets that the Lions Club and Women in Timber deliver to needy families in the area.
“It’s not about what we want, it’s about what they want,” one student put it as they moved up and down the aisle way overlooking the toy selection.
Fourth grader Kris Maier said that his group did their shopping nice and quick.
“We did our shopping quick,” Maier said. “We walked in, looked around, saw what we wanted to get and got it.”
The students were buying presents for a wide age range of children, from young to older. They got to decide whether they wanted to buy for a girl or boy and the age range. Fourth grade teacher Stacy Crabb said that each student had about fifteen dollars to spend on the child they were buying for and they got to be the ones to pick it out.
To raise money, the students placed jars in three local businesses as well as challenged the grades at the elementary to bring in money. The fourth graders won the contest and raised $81.76. And since it was their project, the students knew that they should be the ones who contributed the most. With the combined efforts of the other grades and from the local community, the students raised a total of $381.48.
After the students were done shopping, the students headed over to Ruthie Warnken’s to drop off the presents so they could be put into the boxes that went out to families in need. Each year, Crabb challenges the students to select at least one activity that would help out those in the community.
“I ask them to do at least one project each year that involves community service,” Crabb said. “It sort of teaches them the spirit of giving and also they don’t get anything back.”
With 25 students in the fourth grade class, 25 gifts were donated to the two organizations for the boxes. While shopping, the students were also caroling on the side of the roads as different groups of four or five went into the businesses to pick out their presents.
From sleds to Barbie dolls, the kids had it covered. When they were ready to check out, the chaperones gave them what they needed and the students were able to pay for their purchase. And though they didn’t get anything in return, the students knew that they were probably making someone else very happy.