MARGATE – Explaining homelessness to children as young as 5 or 6 can be challenging, but teachers at the William H. Ross School got the point across by simply saying, “There are some people near here who didn’t brush their teeth today because they don’t own a toothbrush.”
Spanish teacher and third and fourth grade leadership advisor Tracy Magel spoke to kindergarteners and preschoolers Thursday morning in the cafeteria, the last day before a weeklong spring break. She made helping others fun for the children, who used oversized crayons to decorate 100 cardboard boxes that would be used for personal care packages for the residents at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission.
Mission Outreach Coordinator Sara Franklin was on hand to help students prepare the packages throughout the day. At the end of the day, packages were transported to the mission for distribution to families and individuals who are currently without a permanent place to live.
The school accepted donations of personal care items, including tissues, combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other items to be packaged up and distributed. The entire school participated in the project, with the youngest children providing their artistic talents to decorate the boxes.
First and second graders made labels and wrote positive messages to include inside each box. Third graders sorted item and fourth graders boxed them up.
By the end of the day, 100 boxes were delivered to the mission. Monetary donations were also accepted.
It is the third year the school held the service project.
