Students sell treats for a cause

EAST COUNTY — For the last month, Lorraine Moxham-Smith’s lesson has reached beyond her kindergarten classroom at Braden River Elementary.

Her students have been performing chores at home or in their communities to raise money for two local animal shelters — Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue and Hooves, Paws and Claws.

Kindergartner Shannon Schroeder cleaned her messy room to earn money for the cause.

“I had at least 10 toys on the floor in my room,” she said. “My brother, Luke, only had four or five. It took me forever.”

Other students took out the trash, crafted artwork to sell or hosted lemonade stands in their neighborhoods.

The students and their parents purchased blankets, dog food and other supplies the shelters needed.

Students’ parents helped raise money May 6 through May 9 by running two stands at the school in the afternoon, at which they sold 50-cent Fla-Vor-Ice freezer pops to students.

The parents raised more than $250, in addition to the items students purchased with the funds they raised at home.

“It’s really important for the students to understand global outreach,” Moxham-Smith said. “It’s important to introduce this to kids at a young age, so they can recognize important causes.”

The lesson will wrap up over the next month when the students give their donations to the shelters.

“I think we’ve just started to scratch the surface of what students can do in our community,” Moxham-Smith said. “Someone needs to pass the torch to them.”

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected]