FCPS.net from A to Z:


	Tuesday, May 13, 2008 • School is in session today Instructional day 166 • 11 days left in school year • Calendar
	¡Nuevo! Información en Español

Feature article

Generosity blossoms at Veterans Park Elementary

Article and picture by Tammy Lane
January 29, 2008

Recycling bins fill up fast at Veterans Park Elementary School, where students understand it’s important to protect the earth’s environment. So they have expanded their WasteBuster efforts with a new blue recycling bin for cardboard only.

A display in the hallway at Veterans Park Elementary School illustrates the children’s community-minded efforts. Pictures from special events, thank-you notes and a list of service projects serve as reminders of the students’ outreach.

  “If you just throw it away, it takes a long time to decompose. It’s better to reuse it than let it rot in the ground,” said 10-year-old Jordan Graves, who said her school discards a lot of cardboard boxes.
  Classmate Christian Kohler agreed, adding, “If all the boxes go to the landfill, it can ruin the plant life in that area.”
  Guidance counselor Judy Blakeman praised the fifth-grade recycling team’s energy and initiative. “Kids this age want to make a difference,” she said.
  Community service has become a way of life at Veterans Park Elementary, where regular projects cultivate students’ generosity.
  “When I give back to the community, it makes me feel like my heart’s warming because I’m giving instead of taking,” said 11-year-old Kendall Greene.
  Whether sponsoring a blood drive, participating in a diabetes walk or collecting toiletries for veterans, the children put their citizenship into action.
  “It’s about how we can help people,” Blakeman said, “… reaching outside yourself and doing something for the greater good.”
  That philosophy fuels students for the monthly projects, which have been a mainstay for at least eight years.
  “It’s a very community-minded school,” said Liza Holland, public relations chairwoman for the PTA.
  “It’s probably a combination of the kids coming home enthused and parents being active in education that makes this work for us.”
  A display in the hallway provides a sampling: Thank-you notes, pictures from events and a list of the year’s service projects illustrate the outreach efforts.
  “It astounds me every month. I’m blown away by the generosity of everyone at Veterans Park Elementary,” said Michelle Zachman, the PTA representative who, with Blakeman, coordinates the service projects. “Everyone here has the same values, and they want to give back to the community.”
  One project that went over particularly well was September’s diabetes walk, which raised more than $5,000.
  “It really pulled our school together,” Blakeman said, noting that a student who has juvenile diabetes designed T-shirts for the event.
  December’s project, a giving tree, also was a big hit as students donated more than 100 coats, along with mittens, scarves and boots, for local charities.
  “Usually we have a lot of people bring in stuff,” said 10-year-old Christian. “Since I have older stuff I don’t need, why don’t I give it to someone who needs it more?”
  “It makes you feel really good” to be able to help the homeless, added fellow fifth-grader Seth Jaeger.
  Also among students’ favorite projects was Stew for Stu, a food drive named for district superintendent Stu Silberman. In this classroom contest, students filled 12 to 15 big barrels with canned goods for the needy.
  Visuals such as the barrels of food help inspire the children, who love to see their piles of donations growing.
  For the upcoming March project, Zachman will decorate a couple of buckets to hold “baby shower” items, which local service agencies will distribute to expectant mothers they serve. The buckets will sit in the front hallway where students will see them on their way into school and into the gym.
  She also plans to post pictures of animals available for adoption so the children can connect with April’s project, when they will bring in leashes, bowls, dog food and other donations for the Humane Society.
  “You’d hope at some level we’re touching (the students) and helping them learn how not to be selfish and to be generous,” Zachman said.
  What else is on tap?
• February: Pennies for Patients, a fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
• May: Pop tabs, saved all year for recycling and cash, to benefit Indian Summer Camp, which serves critically ill children.
  “We tell the kids: ‘You’re just one person, you can’t do everything, but you can do something,’” Blakeman said.
  That sentiment rings true with the parents, too.
  “People do what they can, when they can,” Zachman said. “There’s always going to be a project that touches a family differently, and they’ll step up.”

Printer friendly view

Questions? Comments? Feedback page
Fayette County Public Schools, 701 East Main Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40502 (859) 381-4100
Contents of this web site are intended to be used for the enhancement of instruction only.
Statement of nondiscrimination