Third-graders providing Hurricane relief
Third-graders in Alyssa Hill’s class at Northshore Elementary School raided their piggy banks and got money from mom and dad, adding to an empty purple Cheetos container labeled “Hope for Harvey.”
“I thought that it was a really good idea. I told my mom we’re raising money for Hurricane Harvey [victims],” Jack Cardwell, one of Hill’s students, said. “She thought it was a really good idea, too. I had $2, four quarters and a penny.”
Was it everything in his piggy bank? “Almost,” he said.
“My mom knew about it because she works here,” classmate Sarah Grace Welden said. “I thought that it was a really good idea for those people who might be a little homeless over there or anything, and that it would be a really good idea to do that for people. I haven’t given money yet, but I will. I’ll probably give at least $5. I’ll get the money from my mom, but I’ll pay her back from my piggy bank.”
“We talked in class about how those kids weren’t getting to go to school because their classrooms were flooded,” Hill said.
She should know: Hill was born and raised in Houston. Kingwood High School, in her family’s Houston neighborhood, was flooded.
“We did it last year for the [Sevier County] fires and our school raised almost $4,000 for the [American] Red Cross and Dollywood Foundation,” she said.
Her students have been gathering money for American Red Cross’s work in Texas.
As Hill lifted the heavy container, she tried to guess how much has been donated.
“We have $300 in paper money,” she said. “With the change, we might have $700. We’ll take it to the bank and turn in the change and then our bookkeeper will write a check to the Red Cross. We’ll specify which fund we want it to go to.
“I feel like it’s a good thing
for the kids to build community and we learn about geography in the third grade,” Hill added. “Even though these people
aren’t in our backyard, it’s good to help other people out.
“Now the kids are saying, ‘We’ll have to start saving for [Hurricane] Irma.’”
