CUSD 10 staff are dedicated in the classroom, but this summer it was actions outside the classroom that showed how we care for students. During break, CUSD staff volunteered to help provide lunch for State Park and Fairmont City neighborhoods.
Volunteers from Kreitner and Caseyville Elementary Schools partnered with non-profits Kids for Christ-Feed My Lambs and TWIGS summer lunch programs, local businesses, and private community donors, to pass out 5,708 lunches over 11 weeks. The program also offered fun activities, crafts, read-alouds, book borrowing, science experiments and games.
Kimberly Cook, kindergarten teacher and bilingual/ELL specialist at Kreitner Elementary, has been a catalyst for community outreach in the area. She said, “Over 40 district staff volunteered alongside neighborhood helpers and others to make our vision a reality. This was truly a community effort.”
“We were so blessed with donations we were able to send 60+ extra lunches home every Thursday with Kreitner’s summer school students so they would have food Friday when there was no school. Kids for Christ donated $300 specifically for this purpose,” said Cook, “We also delivered lunches to those without transportation living at Fairmont Racetrack.”
Cook was proud to see the program expanded to incorporate neighborhoods from Caseyville Elementary. “This year we added a team of Caseyville teachers who joined us to pack lunches and deliver them to the lowest economic areas of Fairmont City. The Caseyville teachers mentioned how this opportunity to get out in neighborhoods helped them better understand some of the challenges their students may face,” she said.
Fortunately, the care and concern of the summer program carried over into the school year. Cook announced, “At the end of the summer Kids for Christ normally provides backpacks and school supplies for our students. Because Kreitner had a large stock of supplies already donated, Kids for Christ made a financial donation instead. This $500 went towards higher priced supply items not typically donated, including 40 pairs of headphones for students who did not have them.”