Hamptons Bays Kids Help Southampton Animal Shelter
As part of a new first-grade community service committee, 70 first-graders at Hampton Bays Elementary School teamed up to raise $800 for the Southampton Animal Shelter during the month of April.
Under the direction of teachers Jonathan DellaSperanza, Diane Hutchison and Kristy Loper, the students met throughout April to organize and design a plan for the fundraiser and awareness campaign. To accomplish their goals, the students sold multi-colored bracelets for $1 each, and presented them in boxes, each with the name and picture of a dog at Southampton Animal Shelter.
The students also hand drew posters and hung them around the school to advertise the bracelets, and made T-shirts to unify the committee. Each shirt, created in a variety of colors, features the word “LOVE” with a dog’s paw print in place of the letter O.
In May, the students will meet with representatives from the Southampton Animal Shelter to present the funds they raised. At that time, they will also learn more about the shelter.
“These students, even just 6 and 7 years old, really made a difference by working together,” DellaSperanza, a first grade inclusion teacher at Hampton Bays Elementary, said.