Great Kids: Sixth graders organize supply drive to benefit Connecticut Humane Society

WETHERSFIELD, CT (WFSB) - Sixth grade homeroom teacher from Emerson-Williams Elementary, Jessica Sitler, always uses lessons in her classroom to challenge her students.

“This one in particular was about being a positive impact in your community,” said Sitler. “We watched some videos, and they came up with ideas they can do.”

To apply their lesson to real life, the students came up with an idea.

“We all love animals and how can we help animals,” said Sitler. “We talked about the humane society and went on their website seeing they do supply drives and we were like, ‘let’s do it.’”

The kids organized a supply drive to benefit the Connecticut Humane Society.

They wanted to collect toys along with treats and foods for cats and dogs.

The kids learned a lot from the experience according to 6th graders Joey DeMonte.

DeMonte said, “what I learned about this is that doing simple things can be hard.”

To get the word out, they made posters by hand and put them up all around school.

Sixth grader Kailanie Jimenez explained that the task was a lot harder than it originally seemed.

Jimenez said, “probably going to each classes and explaining to them what to do and what you bring.”

Not only did the kids learn an important lesson, they collected a lot in a short amount of time.

“We started with a little table, a desk right outside my classroom and then it turned into a giant 6-foot table full on top and boxes underneath,” said Sitler.

At the end of the week, reps from the Connecticut Humane Society showed up for a special ceremony to accept all the donations.

The students ended up collecting 4 extra-large boxes of donations including 25 bags of dog and cat food, 50 containers of treats, and 100 toys for dogs and cats.

Sixth grader Birdie Marszalek said, “it made me feel accomplished that we helped the animals that weren’t as fortunate as some of our pets.”

Another sixth grader Robert Graziani talked about how happy he felt to help out with a great cause.

“When I saw all those donations, it was very heart-warming to know how many pets we were helping out for the community,” said Graziani.

Teacher Jessica Sitler said this is just a start at least according to her students.

“They have already asked what other kind of supplies we can do,” said Sitler. “They work so hard, but I’m so proud of them and I feel like they really learned a lot.”

It may have started as just a classroom project, but the simple truth is it’s a lesson in giving back they will remember for life.

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