Box Tops for Education believes a child’s education is the foundation for them to reach their full potential.
This is why the national organization — which helps school officials receive cash for their schools — donated $20,000 to a local elementary school in McDonough, Georgia.
School officials at Oakland Elementary School were thrilled to receive news that their school had been selected for a monetary donation from Box Tops for Education in December.
The Henry County school was one of 13 in the metro Atlanta area to receive funding as part of Box Top’s mission to serve students who attend Title I schools. Oakland Elementary School is one of 24 schools in Henry County that is operating a school-wide Title I program, according to the Henry County Schools website.
The donation will help the school maintain food services for up to 79% of students.
It will help the school pay remaining balances for all the students who receive free and reduced lunch through the meal program, said Andre Johnson, principal of Oakland Elementary School. It will also go toward efforts into the school’s mentorship group, known as Young Men Rising, and its community garden, Johnson added.
News of the monetary donation filled him with excitement.
“I was absolutely elated,” Johnson said. “We already had plans (to develop) our garden-to-table program, so it was a blessing to the school.”
Credit: Henry County Schools
Credit: Henry County Schools
The endeavor is something the school wanted to kickoff as a benefit to the McDonough community.
“I had meetings with the students, their parents and staff, and we talked a lot about the need for our school to be a hub for the community,” Johnson said. “So this is one of the ways we will be able to bring in that (positive) support.”
In fall of last year, the students planted collard greens, which were picked and washed in November to distribute to families in the Henry County School System and throughout the McDonough community.
“We showed them how to plant and later wash collards, and it was a hit with the students,” Johnson said. “To see the growth and then to eat what they planted was amazing for them.”
It’s a collective ambition that Lilly Moeding feels coincides with Box Top’s mission to encourage students to thrive.
“That’s what makes my job incredible,” Moeding said. “It gives me so many reasons to feel great, and one of them is that I get to contribute to their earnings.”
The earnings for the students and staff at Oakland Elementary will continue to grow now that they can fully fund their garden initiative.
It’s a resource Moeding wish she had throughout her educational upbringing.
“The farm-to-table program is such a fun thing to teach students about healthy eating and also to feed the community,” she said. “It is something I would have loved learning about (in my youth).”
Parents are encouraged to participate with the Box Tops program by scanning receipts via the mobile app which will then generate funds for their child’s school and other local schools in need.
Credit: Henry Herald
Credit: Henry Herald
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