Four first grade classes at Cherry Hill Primary recently made placemats and cards for the Fayette County Commission on Aging food program as part of a Lions Quest service learning project. The students used leadership and decision-making skills as they collaborated on the project, which positively impacted their school and community.
“Our students decided they wanted to work with other first grade classes to bring smiles to more faces in our community,” teacher Miss Rebecca Matthews said. “We have been challenged to cooperatively meet a need in our community.”
Students from Miss Maggie Hedrick’s, Mrs. Tiffany Null’s, Mrs. Jenny Woods’ and Mrs. Angela Holley’s/Miss Rebecca Matthew’s classes used their talents to make the 156 placemats and 173 cards for community members that receive meals from the food programs. The placemats were used at the facility to brighten the day of anyone who eats a meal there. Cards were delivered to clients that received Meals on Wheels.
Cheryl Stockwell, director of the Fayette County Commission on Aging, said that on the day the cards were delivered, about 220 people were served meals as part of the Meals on Wheels program and the Commission on Aging meals served at the facility, which is located on Elm Street in Washington Court House. The Fayette County Commission on Aging serves about 1,500 people per month.
“Cheryl Stockwell delivered a thank you card from the Commission on Aging to our first grade classes. She said several people wanted to take the placemats home and hang them in their house,” Matthew said. “They even asked for plastic bags, so the placemats would be protected. The people there were very appreciative and could not believe the artwork was done by first graders.”
“The students were amazed their small contribution could touch that many lives in one day!” Matthews said.
Mrs. Amy Brown’s second grade class also made cards, but the service learning project that her class chose focused on thanking veterans in the Washington Court House community. The class also planned a breakfast that was held at Cherry Hill Primary that honored veterans in the community.
Valorie Morton with the Fayette County Ohio Veterans Service Center helped the students coordinate the breakfast celebration. Local veterans were invited to join Brown’s class for “Doughnuts for Veterans,” Friday, April 27, 2018 at Cherry Hill Primary. Doughnuts and milk were enjoyed by veterans and students, along with a little fun, according to Brown.
Second grade student Cooper Zimmerman said, “I enjoyed eating breakfast with the veterans and learning about their lives.”
Brown’s second grade class also interviewed Airman Adam Doty to learn more about the armed forces, as well as what it means to be a veteran.
“I’m not the type of person that enjoys going out in public in my uniform or being in the public eye,” Doty said. “I was unsure about how it would go, or how the kids would react to being around a member of the military. From the first few minutes, I felt like I was immediately the most popular kid in school as the kids pointed and said, ‘Look at the Army man.’”
Doty talked to the class about his duties as an airman and all of the places his career in the Air Force has taken him.
“It was nice to let these kids know, that may think that they will never be able to travel and see the world outside of Court House, that there are options available,” Doty said.
The second grade students asked Doty many questions ranging from, “Do you have any medals?” to his personal favorite, “What’s your favorite flower?”
“I was surprised about how fun it was to speak in front of kids and I was honored Mrs. Brown asked for me to represent the military for her class,” Doty said.
