The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Elizabeth Avenue School students and staff were all smiles December 17 as they continued their tradition of helping the Franklin Food Bank with a $650 contribution.
The ceremonial check was presented in the school’s gym to Derek Smith, the Food Bank’s executive director.
Students and staff “see supporting our community and the Franklin Food Bank as key, as a goal for us,” said school principal Greg Romero. “We want to ensure that our families and the greater community are taken care of, and this is some of the work that we do throughout the year.”
Each year, students are given an incentive to donate. This year, the incentive was to wear pajamas to school on a Friday, said Slyvia Strzeminski, a 5th Grade literacy teacher and co-organizer of the event with Jenn Schellenberg, the school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports director.
“And the kids love wearing pajamas on Friday,” Strzeminski said.
She said she created a video with Smith that was played in classes and sent home to parents.
“The kids were … starstruck when Derek walked in,” she said. “They were like, we know him, we know him!”
“And then we just wait for the donations, and it’s always a hit,” she said. “It always works out for us, and we get a pretty good amount of money for the Franklin Food Bank.”
“We find it makes a difference when they can see what (the Food Bank) looks like, what it’s going to, the storage in the back, it just makes that full circle connection for them,” Strzeminski said.
The class that raised the most money was given a reward through the PBIS program. This year, that reward was an ice cream party, Schellenberg said. And the winner was the 5th Grade, which raised $122.
Smith made sure to take a few minutes and thank the student representatives who were at the presentation.
“What we did here today is ensure that for those individuals and families that live right here in Franklin Township, maybe even some families in your school or in your classroom, that they have access to healthy, nutritious, and culturally relevant food,” he said. “That’s the work that you guys did. So every penny, every dollar that you’ve donated to the Food Bank is going to ensure that people have access to food.”
“That’s better than the government,” he said. “You guys are actually helping people, which is so, so cool.”
“The energy in here is infectious,” Smith said later. “I can’t wait to go back to the office. I love all of our schools. This school has me pumped. The energy is just special.”
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