Summer Street School Students Support Local Food Pantries

For this week's Whiz Kids of the week, Lynnfield Patch highlights the students at Summer Street School who recently devoted their time and effort to raising money to help support area food pantries. Here is more information...

Note: The following was provided by local nonprofit group Gathering Change...

The Student Council of Summer Street School chose Gathering change, Inc. as one of its fundraising efforts this spring.  The council, comprised of 35 fourth graders and two teachers, Kristine Percoskie and Patti Heldenbergh, exists to organize community service and fundraising for local charities. 

Inspired by the idea of “making people happy”, the council wanted to give money to a food pantry so it could purchase food for their neighbors in need.  Gathering Change, Inc. is an organization that encourages individuals and groups of all ages to collect their spare change and then donates the money to local food pantries and social programs. 

The Summer Street School was introduced to Gathering Change, Inc. last year when teacher Stephanie Klove and her kindergarten colleagues held a collection with four kindergarten classes.   This year, with the support of Principal Jane Tremblay, the student council suggested holding a school-wide coin drive calling it "Filling Buckets for Nourishment and Hope."

Responsibilities of the council included sending a flyer home to each school family describing the collection, placing a bright bucket in each classroom for depositing coins and creating colorful posters advertising the project with slogans like ‘Give Change, Make Change’,  ‘One Coin Could Make a Difference’ and ‘Change Goes a Long Way’. 

The collection ran for 10 school days, March 7 to March 18, and rose over $1,900.  The students particularly liked the fact that pantries associated with the Boston Food Bank pay $1 for $4 worth of food, widely stretching donation dollars.

“It is impressive how invested the students are in the student council”, said Ms. Heldenbergh, explaining the council arrives before school for meetings and to work on projects.  Participating in the council affords the opportunity for these students at 10 and 11 years old to develop leadership and community awareness skills.  As council member Jackie McCarthy says:  “If you fill someone else’s bucket, you fill your own.  It feels good to help other people”.