By selling slightly used toys within their school, a group of second graders at Westmere Elementary School in Guilderland have raised money for those deeply impacted by Tropical Storm Irene.
During the week of Dec. 5, students in Westmere teacher Dorine Phelan’s class committed their time to running their own “toy store” in a main hallway of the school in order to raise money for the Middleburgh Central School in Schoharie County. The idea stemmed from the need to teach students about communities as part of their curriculum.
“I was thinking beyond knowing what your community is and what the physical part of the community is,” said Phelan. “What about being a good citizen within your community as well?”
While the storm hit some areas of the immediate Capital District hard, the damage was minimal compared to the destruction in parts of Schoharie County. Phelan reached out to parents during an open house in September and asked them if they had any connections to communities impacted by the storm. One parent, who works at Albany Medical Center, told Phelan that a coworker’s sister taught in Middleburgh.
That school suffered severe damage to its wood shop and technology center. Estimates are that the tech center alone sustained over $200,000 in damages.
“In this case, it was a financial need to replace things they had lost,” said Phelan.
She went back to her class and asked them how they could raise money.
“They came up with having a lemonade stand or a bake sale, because that’s their range of experience,” Phelan said. “Some kids said let’s have a garage sale. I thought about how we could do that in our school.”
At the same time, a used book sale was taking place at the school. Phelan and her students put all their ideas together and came up with the idea for a used toy sale.
“I was just going to have my class donate their toys, because I didn’t want it to be too huge, ‘cause I was afraid if we could handle it,” said Phelan. “Then, we really didn’t have enough, so I asked staff if they had any toys from their family.”
Phelan wound up sending out a flyer to every family and student in the school. The result was a hallway of tables filled with slightly used toys and games.
Along with completing their basic class work, the students were also helping to develop a makeshift department store they called G.U.T.A.G.’s, which stands for Gently Used Toys and Games. Two or three students at a time would run the store, helping parents, teachers and fellow students make purchases.
“It’s fun to do projects like this, and it’s important to do them, but you also have to do the regular stuff, too,” said Phelan. “It’s great because you can combine them.”
Jennifer Rehberg, a teacher at Middleburgh Central School, called the Westmere students “amazing young citizens.”
“We appreciate their efforts and the support that so many have shown our community as we continue to recover,” said Rehberg. “They exemplify the holiday spirit and we thank them for their thoughtfulness and generosity.”
Phelan said the sale was a win-win for everyone involved.
‘Some kids were buying gifts for the holidays,” said Phelan. “Those kids feel like they’re giving to the cause. People got rid of toys, kids were buying things and teachers were buying things for their classrooms.”
The students raised about $1,000 through the sale. Phelan said that the idea could work for other classes and schools looking to raise money for a good cause.
