HOLLISTER
A change drive at Spring Grove helped students learn the important lesson that the holidays are just as much about giving as they are about receiving.
Students at the kindergarten through eighth-grade school organized a fundraiser for the Perry family, who lost all of their belongings in a fire in November. The change drive raised $2,700 total.
Jenny Bernosky, a teacher at Spring Grove, said the students were looking for a community service when she read in the newspaper about the fire. Two of the Perry children are students at the school.
Associated Student Body President McKenna Bernosky, 13, said they came up with the idea to do a change drive, hoping students would bring spare dollar bills. The generosity of the students and their families, however, exceeded expectations.
“A lot of the students were really good friends with the kids who lost their house, so many people donated gift cards and called in to see if they needed like a washer or dryer,” Bernosky said.
Throughout the year, the students do fundraisers and food drives for local charities, but Bernosky said it made a difference knowing the family they were helping.
“I think it really helped that they were a part of the school,” Jenny Bernosky said. “People were donating $100 at one shot.”
Zackery Szyndrowski, a senator with the Associated Student Body, said the fourth- and second-grade classes, which the Perry children are a part of, were particularly generous.
“This family, they have a lot of friends here,” said Szyndrowski, 13. “I know it’ll work out for them later on.”
On the last day of school before winter break, the Spring Grove students presented Jackie Perry and her children with a check for more than $2,000 and a $500 cell phone plan.
The students agreed that it was a great feeling giving to a family that had suffered a great misfortune earlier in the year.
“It was really rewarding and it felt good to know that we did something good for a family that needed a lot,” McKenna Bernosky said.
Jenny Bernosky said that as the check was handed over, she was very proud of the students and got a little teary-eyed for the Perry family.
“It’s a great thing to have around Christmas,” she said.
The Perry family couldn’t be reached for comment.
