Creston students raise money to adopt a family

Nobody has to tell Creston School students what Christmas is all about.

Fueled by generous spirits and compassion for their struggling Flathead Valley neighbors, 65 first- through sixth-graders just couldn't stop giving this week.

On Monday, pushing shopping carts through Shopko and Kmart, they were determined to bless one of those less-fortunate families in a big way.

"We got her a boom box and shoes and this stencil craft kit and this thing for nails," Steven Schuster said, holding up a glittery plastic-wrapped palette as he and his group began wheeling into Shopko's clothing department.

The sixth-grader was at the handle on a cart full of gifts for an 11-year-old girl, oldest of the five children of a single mom. Each child in the family had filled out a list of needs and wishes with the Salvation Army, to be used as a gift-shopping guide by those who "adopted" them this Christmas.

Over the past two weeks, the Creston students had contributed their allowances and babysitting money and asked parents to pitch in if they could. Then they headed for town with a grand total of $444. Each group's $44 share called for wise stewardship if they were going to make it through the lists.

Schuster's cluster of 12 shoppers was made up of two groups, with the older students in charge. They made group decisions on what was best left in the cart.

"The nail stuff, we don't know," Schuster's group co-leader and classmate Jacob Sefcak said. "There's these commercials with kids liking it."

They consulted their hand-held calculators once more.

"OK, $45.47," one of the students called out.

"This here's $5," another said, holding up a shirt.

"OK, everybody, we have $10 left. Let's try to get CDs for her," one said, consulting the label to see whether batteries were included with the boom box. They weren't.

"Group One, you get the CDs. Group Two, get the batteries," Sefcak said. "Group One, follow me."

Off they headed across the store in search of tunes and power, the cart a bit more full after a swing through racks of pretty sweaters and jeans.

They wanted to load up on the batteries, figuring a boom box wouldn't be any good if it played only a few days before the juice was gone. And they didn't want to go chintzy on the CDs.

But the combined $88 share was maxed out. One teacher suggested asking another shopping group if they had anything to spare. That, he soon discovered, would not be necessary.

"I have $5," one boy said, pulling open his wallet and offering the bill.

"Good job, that's awesome," Schuster said. "Are you willing to donate?"

There was a nod of the head.

"I have $10 I'm willing to donate," another student said. A $20 bill came out of another wallet. "OK, now we have enough."

"I'm donating some money so we can get her some nice CDs," Sefcak said, "because what's a boom box without music?"

Students had been asked not only to be good stewards of their money, but of their time. They needed to meet back up with the Kmart shoppers, and time had run out.

"OK, let's go up front and purchase this," Schuster said.

After the checkers rang up and bagged each group's gifts, Shopko store manager Jim Hill was waiting for them at the front of the store with hot chocolate, cookies and candy canes. The children settled down on the floor for an impromptu Christmas party of sorts, then waved good-bye as they headed back to the bus.

Hill was impressed with the children's generosity.

"I want to be on their shopping list," he joked, standing beside the "Welcome Creston School" sign decorated with holly and a jolly snowman.

"We adopted a family, too," he said of his store employees. "But the kids put in their allowances. That (kind of money) is nothing for adults."

He and his Kmart counterpart had been the contact point with Creston Principal Judi Hewitt last week. He welcomed them, offered the hot chocolate and cookies, then stood back.

"We just opened the doors and they had free reign of the store," Hill said. "I'm all about giving back to the community."

Hill came from Walla Walla, Wash., to manage the Kalispell store in July and has come to feel at home amid such acts of generosity.

"I think the family is definitely going to benefit," he said. "And to see the looks on the kids' faces, the big smiles.

"For me, that's what Christmas is - seeing what kids can give."

Principal Hewitt agreed and expanded on how her students were growing through the Christmas kindness.

The whole idea got its start two or three weeks ago as teachers discussed logistics of the annual gift exchanges the classes conduct, and the dollar limit that would be set.

Individual classes had adopted families at Christmas through Salvation Army programs in the past. The brainstorming started on how much good students could do if they pooled all their resources instead of spending their dollars on small presents for each other.

Hewitt called Capt. Laura Wycoff at the Salvation Army to see if there was a family of six who needed help this year - one for each grade in the school.

It wasn't long before she had a Christmas list in hand for each of the family's children.

The word went out to students that they could begin donating as they chose. Quarters and 50-cent allowances started coming in. So did checks for $25 and $50. It reminded Hewitt of the school's coin jar this fall that raised $60 for hurricane victims.

"We have very wonderful students, we have a very generous community," Hewitt said.

Moms and dads donated where they could, but the school didn't solicit businesses.

"We wanted this to be from the kids," she said.

They ended up giving a Christmas dinner for the family, grocery gift certificates for the mother and presents for each of the children.

Hewitt attributes a part of it to the small school that generates a family-oriented atmosphere.

But part of it is due to simple generosity and compassion. Fourth-grade teacher Amity Malberg said a Scholastic News article a couple weeks ago had focused students' attention on poverty in America, giving many children a new awareness.

"They see that they are very lucky. Not everyone is so lucky," Hewitt said.

"They have turned around and really given from their hearts."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com