A local elementary school learned a powerful lesson about kindness and generosity today. The students and staff of Lincoln Heights Elementary reached into their pockets and hearts to help their counterparts at Clarkdale Elementary, in Cobb County, Georgia, which lost almost everything during a September flood.
Local 12's Rich Jaffe looks at their efforts.
The flooding that hit Georgia back in September was phenomenal. Rising floodwaters virtually covered Clarkdale. A staff member at Lincoln Heights Elementary has family down there. And when word spread through Lincoln Heights about the devastation down south, students really wanted to help, because in Lincoln Heights they know what it's like to be needy.
"Good morning, Lincoln Heights... good morning, Clarkdale..."
It was a good morning, indeed, for students and staff from both schools. Even though separated by hundreds of miles, kindness and generosity brought them together, although it's a relationship forged by tragedy. In September, torrential rains in Georgia brought tremendous floods, which destroyed Clarkdale Elementary School. While no lives were lost at the school, everything from school supplies to the very walls were ruined. The students and staff have moved to other schools, while their school is being rebuilt. When students at Lincoln Heights heard about the tragedy, they wanted to do something.
Somoli Cooper, Lincoln Heights Student: "They had a really bad flood, and we were very sorry."
Shauntay Jackson, Lincoln Heights Student: "Because I wanted to help them feel better. Their school flooded and they had to go to another school."
Students and staff at Lincoln Heights raised more than one hundred dollars for gift cards to buy school supplies at Clarkdale. They also wrote one hundred and twenty letters to cheer up the Clarkdale students. And today, Lincoln Heights Octavia Gray presented the gifts to Clarkdale.
"We are here because we knew what happened to you and your school, and we wanted to do something special."
An important lesson for all.
Brenda Miller, Lincoln Heights Principal: "Even if your family doesn't have all the material things that they want or need, there's still something you can give, it can be simple, doesn't have to cost a lot of money, you can write a letter...or share a smile with someone and I think that's the message that our children got."
You might be wondering how kids in a community as poor as Lincoln Heights go about raising money. You might have noticed the students all wear uniforms at Lincoln Heights. For 25 cents, which went for the cause, they were allowed to wear street clothes to school. Staff was also allowed to wear jeans if they contributed.
There are plans in the future for the schools to stay connected. The next step is for kids at Clarkdale to write letters back to the students at Lincoln Heights. Who knows where it will go from there.
