Lounsberry Hollow students show how much they care

VERNON — The Lounsberry Hollow K Kids have been busy the past month showing how much they care.
The community service group has been involved with several activities sharing their compassion for others from seniors to primary school children.
In November, the students handcrafted placemats which were delivered to Meals On Wheels recipients. The children had an incredible time weaving and handwriting uplifting messages on the placemats. The students also spearheaded a school wide collection of new pencils to be sent to Puerto Rico. The “Pencils for Puerto Rico” campaign asked every member of the Lounsberry Hollow family to bring in at least 1 new, unsharpened pencil and the K Kids set of a goal of 700 pencils. They ultimately collected over 1,500 pencils. Students also made cards with happy messages to be included in the package which will be mailed to a school in Puerto Rico which was devastated in the hurricane over the summer.
December found approximately thirty K Kids reading to younger students in both Cedar Mountain and Rolling Hills primary schools. The readers were paired with two to three teachers and read to children from kindergarten to third grade. The children practiced long and hard and were excited to connect with former teachers and in some cases siblings.
Mrs. Rosemary Gebhardt, principal of Cedar Mountain remarked, “Cedar Mountain students enjoyed the experience of reading with the students of Lounsberry Hollow. The connection between the students is priceless.”
The K Kids are not finished yet.
The winter and spring will find them organizing a “Souper Bowl” food drive, collecting for and writing to military service dogs, and many other activities.
“K Kids is an incredible opportunity for children to learn to give back to their community and what better age to begin to instill the values of giving, compassion, and empathy than fourth and fifth grade? I am honored and proud to work with this group of students.” stated Mrs. Monschauer, the K Kids advisor.