Preschool Fundraiser rallies community
<p>Jaycee Carr, Annika Rivinius and Jaelyn Carr get pulled around in a tractor during the annual Preschool Fundraiser. The fundraiser brought the community together for a common goal of helping the kids.</p>
PLAINS- The Little Star Pre-School held their annual Pumpkin Patch fundraiser Saturday on the greenway in Plains.
The annual fundraiser gives the pre-school a chance to connect with the community differently than most schools do.
“We wanted to do more than just sell things for a fundraiser,” Nicole Burrows said. “We wanted a community event and give the kids something to do.”
The event gave children a chance to get their faces painted, paint pumpkins, climb around on hay bales, and ride around the greenway in the “tractor.” The “tractor” rides consisted of children riding in a pull behind trailer of a John Deere lawn tractor. It was the most heavily participated event. The children’s faces lit up when they saw the tractor coming down the street. Yells and screams came from the children, who ran to chase the “tractor.”
The event was open to anyone in the community. It gave the community a chance to get to know the pre-school and for the pre-school to get to know the community. All the funds raised during the day are used to offset the cost of running the pre-school.
“Everyone in the community is welcomed,” Burrows said. “We use the money we raise to help pay for supplies and whatever else the three and four year olds will use for the school year.”
All of the families of children attending the pre-school participated in some fashion for the fundraiser.
“All the children of the school are represented here today,” Burrows said. “Families either bake something for the sale, buy supplies for the pumpkin painting and face painting, or volunteer here today.”
Children had the opportunity to paint their own faces or have it done by Rachel Doble. Most of the children wanted butterflies or lady bugs on their cheeks.
Pumpkin painting become increasingly difficult as the dew on the ground made the pumpkins wet, making it hard for the paint to dry.
However the weather was much better than last year’s event.
“Last year we had a huge storm here at the fundraiser,” Burrows said. “It was one of those cold mixed rain and ice sort of storms.”
Saturday’s perfect weather made for a perfect day of rides, painting, and baked goods for the Little Star Pre-School.