Colt Elementary Can Drive ‘overwhelming’
Callie Callahan, left, and Breanna Pfeifer, both 5th grade C3 members, got a workout Monday afternoon, hauling box after box of nonperishable goods.
By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula
When the founder of the Helping Center in Marble Falls pulled up to Colt Elementary Monday afternoon, Dec. 15, he didn’t know he would need reinforcements.
Helping Center director Sam Pearce had to call a friend with a pickup truck.
Students, parents and staff raised enough donations for the Helping Center to fill two pickup trucks, inside and out.
“It’ll end up being around a ton and a half,” Pearce said. “This is definitely more than 3,000 pounds of food.”
Much of it was oriented toward Christmas dinner for families in need. “We had a list of about 11 Christmas foods, but we didn’t turn anything away,” said Christina DeLoach, Colt Elementary counselor and Colt Character Crew (C3) leader. “I stopped counting at 2,500 cans.”
The 35 4th and 5th-graders in the C3 leadership development program were instrumental in the can drive as a community service project. Students collected, counted, sorted and boxed the contributions. Then they had the satisfaction of loading up the boxes at the end of the two-week can drive.
“The God story in this is that I was about to drop $1,000 at H-E-B to get through the week,” he said, but that errand was marked off his to-do list.
He got more help later in the week from C3 students, who volunteered at the Helping Center, sorting and bagging items for families.
Pearce complimented DeLoach on what he called “overwhelming support.”
“You blew me away,” he said.
In addition to thousands of pounds of food, around $300 in cash and gift cards were donated to the Helping Center.
“The donations made by students were really meaningful: Kids were donating money out of their allowance,” DeLoach said. “That’s what really impressed us.”
The $1 given by an elementary school student is roughly equivalent in importance to a parent’s hundred-dollar bill.
Of course, a community service project lends itself to teachable moments and self-reflection. “We had conversations about the difference between a ‘handout’ and donation,” DeLoach said. “It depends on the spirit in which it was given.”
“I hope [students] learned to give in the right spirit, lovingly and with an open heart,” she said.
DeLoach was undeniably proud of her C3 students. “This was the first time they’ve gotten really, really involved,” she said.
The classes that raised the most cans were treated to a popcorn party hosted by C3 students.
