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By STEPHEN BARTLETT
MORRISONVILLE — Morrisonville students combined learning and community service, pulling in more than 4,000 items for the Plattsburgh Interfaith Food Shelf.
The students surpassed expectations once again for the school's annual Community Contributor Month.
"It made me feel good because I knew I was helping people," said 9-year-old Taylor Byerley.
January is Community Contributor Month at Morrisonville Elementary School, a tradition inspired by the Jan. 19, 1996, Saranac River flooding that destroyed a portion of the Morrisonville community.
The school responded then with Project Flood Relief, joining forces with the community to raise more than $22,000.
Since then, January projects have included helping senior citizens, contributing to animal shelters, sending supplies to war-torn Kosovo, supporting the Mission of Hope and troops in Iraq, donating to families of North Country children stricken with cancer, providing gift packages for families of newborns and collecting volunteer hours that were donated to area nonprofit groups.
FACTS FOR FOOD
This year's Project Facts for Food had students collecting non-perishable food items and personal-hygiene products that were donated to the Interfaith Food Shelf.
"During the holiday season, the spirit of giving helps support organizations like the Food Shelf," said Morrisonville Elementary School Principal Brad Ott. "However, the winter months following December can be very challenging.
"But we wanted our children to earn the items they brought by doing school-related work. We challenged our children to practice math facts for 10 minutes a day in the company of a parent, guardian, child-care provider or an older sibling."
Students recruited sponsors for the project, who pledged to donate food and hygiene items based on student practice time. The practice time was conducted in addition to assigned homework.
'IT WAS FUN'
"It's really great when kids can learn something and also know they helped people out," Ott said.
Students seemed to agree.
"I thought it was fun because we got to bring food in and work on our math facts," said 9-year-old Jasmine Lane.
"It helped the Food Shelf, and we all worked together to do it," said Victoria Bruno, 10.
Logan Thatcher, also 10, thought it would be cool to see how much food he and his classmates could collect for people in need.
The school's goal was 3,000 items, and as of Thursday morning, students had collected 4,167 items, with more coming in.
"This could help thousands of people," smiled Matthew Fall, 9.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The school has transported some of the items to the Food Shelf, though more trips are planned.
"This response sends the message that the community wanted to be involved with this," Ott said.
Math facts are important to learn, he said, but the concepts of working together to help others, especially during tough economic times, made Project Facts for Food special.
"We weren't just learning but helping the community at the same time," said Sydney Adolfo, 11.
"It felt good to help other people," said 10-year-old Preston Boliber.
E-mail Stephen Bartlett at: sbartlett@pressrepublican.com
