Creekside Food Drive Helps Teach Valuable Lesson While Helping Others

For the third year in a row, students from Creekside Elementary are "spreading the nice," helping to bring joy to others during the holiday season.

It's a valuable lesson to teach, according to Creekside principal Lawrence Pumford who said the message of thinking of others first is something the Hartland elementary school strives to teach on a daily basis.

"It fits in very well with our "spread the nice" message that we're trying to teach the students," he said. "Collecting food for the less fortunate fits in perfectly with that."

Organized by Creekside first grade teacher Jennifer Stokes for the last three years, the school has consistently seen larger amounts of food donated each year.

In 2012, the school raised 632 pounds of food and this year, the school was able to raise 944 pounds in just a few weeks.

It's a credit to the classroom teachers, according to Stokes, who encourage students to give by coming up with creative ways to excite and motivate the children using ideas such as donation classroom themes.

"Some classes had different themes like everyone brings in Mac and Cheese or different cereals," Stokes said. 

It helps to add fun for the students and variety, according to Stokes, to the donations that will be going to families this holiday season.

For more information on how to donate to the Gleaners Community Food Bank, click here.

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