The power of kids helping kids
The power and excitement of the DCSM students resulted in 310 collected items. Rebecca Jones’ (back right) winning class raised 118 items. Her class, along with Erika Tinkers’ (back left) service class, who sponsored the event, shared a fun celebration of root beer floats with Bin Babes Myrnan Fronczak (bottom left) and Michaele Anne McEachern (bottom right).
DCS Montessori (DCSM) middle school students sponsored a food drive to raise essential items for Bin Blessed, a nonprofit organization providing support to There With Care, an organization which provides meaningful services to families and children during the critical phase of a medical crisis.
The one-week drive was a project for the students’ service class. The class also teaches a lesson on the three types of service: direct, indirect and advocacy.
In addition, the students volunteered weekly with lower elementary students, helping them with reading and math.
“It is a great class to introduce them to the importance and value of service work for their community, and a nice precursor to high school where 20 volunteer hours are required to graduate,” said Erika Tinker, a DCSM teacher.
The students promoted the event with school posters and lunch announcements. They provided each homeroom a collection bin and grocery bags for the home deliveries. They also kept track of daily donations with a bar graph.
This is the second year DCSM hosted the drive and they doubled donations from last year. Overall, 310 items were collected and donated. “The power of kids helping kids – what could be better?!” declared Sheri Flaherty, head of Bin Blessed and community drives.
For more information on Bin Blessed or where to donate, visit www.binblessed.com.
DCSM Food Drive 2: Food donations were collected by each homeroom in green bins provided by Bin Blessed. Popular items include macaroni and cheese, Goldfish crackers and cereal—simple, quick snacks and meals for families experiencing medical crises.
By Julie Matuszewski; photos courtesy of Sheri Flaherty and Erika Tinker
