In a fund drive dubbed “Homes for Oklahoma,” students at Hanford Dole Elementary School raised more than $1,500 for victims of the recent Oklahoma tornado.
“Our students’ generosity is humbling,” said third-grade teacher Maggie Thaxton, who started the fund drive, in a school press release. “Daily, I received donations of fifty cents to $50 from children whose families I know to be struggling themselves.”
Hanford Dole is a Title I school where more than 90 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch rates.
In the spirit of friendly competition, children were invited to purchase construction paper houses worth 50 cents, $1 and $5. The class that made the largest donation celebrates with a pizza party June 7, the final of school.
The winner of that pizza party is Jennifer Coble’s kindergarten class, who led the Bobcat pack by raising $363 in just under two weeks.