CLOSE THIS WINDOWFalls City Salutes the
Falls City Elementary School Students!!!
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By Jennifer Rouse Itemizer Observer, November 14, 2001
The children of Falls City Elementary School raised $170.00 by collecting bottles and cans. "The idea started not so long after Sept. 11," Falls City Elementary principal Fred Heard said. "We had students coming to us who wanted to give blood. We had to explain to them that there was a legal age involved, and then they wanted to know what else they could do." Falls City resident Jackey Jones' son Jack was one of the kids who wanted to help. "I wanted to help because it was so sad," Jack, 11, said. Jones said her son's response made her start thinking. "I thought there must be other kids who feel the same way," she said. "I knew they would feel better if they could do something." While talking to her neighbor, Falls City school bus driver Melinda Cutler, the two came up with the idea of collecting bottles and cans and donating the money. Originally, they planned to donate to the Red Cross, but the Red Cross indicated that it didn't need more money. "Then the President gave his speech and suggested that children send money to the White House for Afghan children, and we changed directions," Heard said. Jones put up containers for can collection in the school cafeteria and sent home fliers. "It just took off like wildfire," she said. "Some other mothers and I just kept collecting them and taking them to Safeway and pumping them into the machines." Students brought the cans from their homes. Some residents who didn't have school-age children heard about the drive and called to find out where they could donate cans, Jones said. Fifth-grader Jeremy Gigstad and his brother and sister brought in half a trash can full of cans his family had been saving at home in their pantry. "I thought if we could get food to Afghanistan, then the people in Afghanistan would stop the Terrorist acts," he said. Jones said she thought all 112 students at Falls City Elementary participated. That means each student contributed more than $1 each. "Each of our kids contributed an average of 152 percent," said Mayor Ginger Lindekugel. Even more remarkable, Lindekugel said, is that the average income of Falls City is around $18,000 per year. "In a city that's struggling to survive, that our kids would give this much is amazing." "We are very proud of them," Heard said. The school sent off a money order following an assembly Oct. 23. Bush created "America's Fund for Afghan Children" Oct. 11, a month after the terrorists attacks on the East Coast. In a speech, he asked evry child in America to send a dollar to provide food, clothes and medicine for Afghan children. According to the White House website, one out of every four children in Afghanistan will die before reaching the age of 5. One out of every three children is an orphan, and almost half suffer from chronic malnutrition. Only a week after the speech, 90.000 pieces of mail had arrived at the White House for the children's fund. The postal service has created a special zip code for the fund. Donations should be sent to: America's Fund for Afghan Children, c/o The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C., 20509-1600. |
Dear President Bush, Enclosed is a check for $170.00 to help the children of Afghanistan. Also enclosed is a photograph fo the Falls City Elementary School students who collected the money with a recyclable can and bottle fund-raiser. We are a small rural town with a population of around 1,000 people and with 112 children in our K through 7th grade school. The results of this fund-raising effort was announced at the October 24th student assembly at which we also had a special guest speaker, Major Gregory Williford, Special Operations for the Oregon State Police. He will begin his new job as Director of Public Safety and Security for the State of Oregon on Nov. 1st. We are honored to have had him as a guest in our community and for his words of encouragement to our kids. Thank you, Mr. President, for your request that the children of America help the innocent of Afghanistan and for your suggestion of a way to do that. Reaching out to help is a wonderful thing to teach them. You should have seen their faces when I announced their accomplishment at the assembly. It was a very rewarding sight. Sincerely, Jackey Raye Jones Parent volunteer |
Office of the Mayor V.C. "Ginger Lindekugel 299 Mill St.-PO Box 310-Falls City, OR 97344 Phone-(503) 787-3631 Fax-(503) 787-2923 fcmayor@wvi.com www.fallscity.org President George W. Bush 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. Mr. President: Enclosed find a US Postal Service Money Order for the amount of $170.00 for the children of Afghanistan, as well as a letter. That in itself in these times is not unusual...the history behind the funds is! When you first asked the children of the United States to each donate one dollar, most of the children from our small rural community did just that. That too is not so unusual. We then had a soda can contribution drive, and the results are enclosed. What makes this so remarkable is: 1. Our population is just a little under 1,000 people, and as with most small rural American cities, we too are struggling to survive. 2. The average family with children has three children. 3. The average COMBINED annual income for our community is $18,929 per family. 4. We have 112 children in our elementary school, and they managed to donate another $170.00. That calculates out to be a 152% donation! Our children take great pride in being Americans. Our flag is on every street corner and flies with pride from every household able to have purchased one. If the caliber of children from one very small, rural American community can indicate the future of this great nation...have no fear, Mr President; we shall indeed remain strong, proud, free and a shining example to the world as to what it means to be an AMERICAN! Yours Truly, V.C. "Ginger" Lindekugel Mayor |
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