i'm so proud of my mom :)

These givers get an A+
Teachers, organizations and individuals are donating supplies to the needy
Published: 8/13/2008 12:00:00 AM
By: Katie Rogers


Caption: Elkhart Community Schools third-grade teachers Carol Nusbaum (left) and Jill Szyarto box food Tuesday for Church Community Services at Memorial High School. Nusbaum, a teacher at Eastwood Elementary, and Szyarto, a teacher at Riverview Elementary, were getting the food, donated by ECS teachers, ready for the trip to the local food pantry.

When more than 900 Elkhart Community Schools staffers attended a yearly back-to-school session at Memorial High School Tuesday morning, most brought along a basic food or personal care items to donate to Church Community Services.

The giving started with a simple e-mail from ECS Superintendent Mark Mow, asking teachers to donate on behalf of the school system and the Elkhart Teachers Association.

"The economy certainly reminds of us of the need to do these things," Mow said, "but I think that spirit has always been there. Elkhart has always been a very generous and giving and caring community in many ways."

At the end of the morning, tabletops in the school's cafeteria were piled high with goods, and an extra $665 in cash was presented to CCS, an organization often faced with dwindling food pantry stocks.

"It's bringing supplies we don't normally get otherwise," CCS executive director Dean Preheim-Bartel said after the donating was done. "They really went all out."

Then, Communities Actively Relating to Elkhart Schools opted to match the $665 donation.

"We saw a need and wanted to show people that CARES is an organization that cares about all people," CARES president Brian Buckley said. "We saw an opportunity to do something nice for the community."