From Hailey Newton, SBO Advisor-
Halls were decorated, flyers were hung, movies were made, and excitement grew. November was filled with hard work, a lot of stress, preparation, and anticipation, but Bennion Junior High School’s “Charity Week” was worth it.
Student government, Cheer, and Peer Leadership Team worked every day to get ready for the week and it paid off, literally. This year Bennion chose to donate items through “Granite Education Foundation,” in the form of a “Sub for Santa,” to children in need.
The school received a list of children that needed basic essentials: a winter coat, gloves, hats, backpacks, and/or clothes. All of these children live in our school district, so we were able to give back to our community.
Any leftover money was used to buy toys for the children so that they were given something “fun.” Each child in need received $100 worth of presents from “Santa.” From all of the money we raised during “Charity Week,” we were able to provide a Christmas for 41 children, who would have otherwise not been able to receive anything for Christmas this year.
Bennion Junior High raised money by selling cookies, candy canes, roses, and singing telegrams, which were all sold at lunch then delivered to students as gifts from each other in their classes. There was also a “penny drive” competition between grades—of which the 7th graders won.
Before the costs were taken out, the total amount earned was an astounding $5,300! That is absolutely incredible and the kids learned a valuable lesson that week: freely giving to others can bring a real form of happiness.
With the money we raised, we then were able to go shop for the children. During the actual shopping, many adults in the store came up saying, “What an amazing thing you are doing for these people. You’re fantastic!” Or, “Wow, what you are teaching these kids by doing this is so important. Good for your school!”
Our student Government, Cheer, and Peer Leadership Team worked really hard to pull this week off, but the credit goes to the whole school for raising so much money. The kids do not get to see the all the benefits of their donations, but most could feel the joy of giving to others.
Being charitable and loving others is one of the best things we can exemplify and teach, and Bennion Junior High students will remember this experience for the rest of their lives.