Giving Tuesday on full display at Middletown elementary school

Keilani Lopez and Adele White spent this Giving Tuesday organizing food at Middletown’s Creekview Elementary School. Keilani and Adele are fourth graders who are helping to make a difference in their community.They know with each box of food that was donated and every can placed on a shelf, a Middletown family’s life gets a little easier.”I did not think that there’s going to be that much,” Keilani said as she looked at the donations.Adele said, “I didn’t know all that food was in there.” Even after handing out dozens of meals fr Thanksgiving, there was a lot left over from the school’s food drive, which was a little different this year.”We just wanted to not make anybody feel pressured to extend themselves in a way that would have been maybe hard,” said Brea Greer, an art teacher at Creekview. So, rather than asking families to donate, as they did in years past, teachers asked students to write letters to local businesses and churches.”We wrote letters saying what they can give to us and what we need, basically,” Keilani said. The response was overwhelming.”It was super exciting. It filled our office, our front office into the conference room, down the hallway,” said Allison Drake, a fourth-grade teacher. “I think it kind of helped lift our spirits during a crazy time of the holidays.””It just became clear that people in the community wanted to be connected and wanted to help out with the schools but didn’t know how,” Greer said. “We had so many donations, we were able to open it up to anybody in our school.” A counseling office has now turned into a mini food pantry that will help to feed families and souls.”It makes me feel happy,” Keilani said.Creekview is still accepting donations of food, hygiene items and gif cards. Anyone wishing to make a donation is asked to call the school directly.