Fairhaven second graders help the homeless while learning valuable life skills

FAIRHAVEN — Thinking outside the classroom, second-grade students from the Leroy L. Wood Elementary School in Fairhaven got a valuable lesson in community and compassion.

This past school year, teachers Amy Ingemi, Carol Tynan, Tess Tieu, and Paula Desrosiers, helped their students create a school store to learn about money counting, customer service, and basic economics.

The elementary students spent weeks making homemade bracelets to sell along with Smencils, and water bottle stickers. Promoting, setting up, and servicing the store were all part of this unique venture that allowed students a taste of working in the real world.

After everything was sold, the students raised $300 to donate to a charity of their choosing. "The highlight of the project was choosing a local charity to donate the profits to, instilling a sense of social responsibility and community service in the students,” said Ingemi in a press release.

One of the lucky recipients was Works 4 U, Inc., a local nonprofit based in New Bedford with the mission of ending homelessness through employment.

They were able to use the funds to purchase backpacks and various camping items to fill them up, which were then distributed to individuals who are experiencing homelessness.

“It is refreshing and inspiring to see our community’s children being so well educated about personal finance, business, and economics while at the same time seeing them give back to their community," Trey Whalley, president of Works 4 U, Inc. said of the second grader’s project in the release. "Those kids have enterprising minds, great teachers, and big hearts!”

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Fairhaven second graders help the homeless while learning valuable life skills