Generosity of Ragersville schoolchildren benefits American Red Cross
By Jennifer Kneuss
December 12, 2011
542
The Muskingum Lakes chapter of the American Red Cross threw open its doors Dec. 8 to welcome the community to its annual Holiday Open House. The chapters New Philadelphia headquarters saw plenty of visitors and volunteers stop by to wish the staff a Merry Christmas and enjoy refreshments, as well as to write out Christmas greetings to be sent to U.S. service men and women overseas or veterans as part of the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign.
Perhaps no guests at the open house, however, were welcomed so warmly as students from Garaway districts Ragersville Elementary. The students were accompanied by Dave Wallace, sixth grade teacher, who explained the reason for their attendance.
The kids have worked very hard to collect thousands of the Box Tops for Education labels both this year so far as well as last year, explained Wallace. Theyve done very well, and have raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,200 plus at this point.
Often, the money or points raised by the box tops are used by schools to purchase playground equipment or other fun supplies for the students, but the students at Ragersville had a different goal in mind. The schoolchildren, whose entire rural school only has approximately 140 students in grades K-6, opted to use their earnings to help out those in their greater community.
We are so grateful to these kids, because they decided to give $500 of the money they worked so hard to raise to our American Red Cross chapter, said Chad Conrad, the local chapter director, as he presented the students representing the school and Wallace with a certificate of appreciation. This money will go into our fund to continue to offer disaster relief and emergency services to those in our community who either need help now or will need assistance in the future.
These kids did such a great job raising so much money, and being willing to share it, exclaimed Jeannette Meiser, Red Cross community relations coordinator. We are delighted to have them here as our guests.
Anyone wishing to take part in the Holiday Mail for Heroes project can call the Red Cross at 330-343-8633.
