Giving Tree helps students fill backpacks for the less fortunate

How do you bring religion lessons to life for young children? This year for an Advent religion lesson on giving and sharing with children less fortunate, kindergarten teacher Trisha Fleury asked her class at Sacred Heart School in Groton if they wanted to collect items to fill backpacks for children that were less fortunate. The first step was to bring the ideas down to their level.

“We had to discuss what fortunate means. We talked about all the things that we have and that some children might not have those things.”

After learning that not every child had things that we take for granted, like warm pajamas, and a toothbrush to brush their teeth, the children were eager to participate in the collection. Mrs. Fleury and her assistant, Mrs. Jenn Babb, created a Giving Tree in the hallway that people could pull off ornaments from and donate the item listed on them. Not only kindergarten families participated.

The entire Sacred Heart community came together. School families and church parishioners also generously gave items. The class was able to fill twenty-four brand new backpacks. Each backpack contained pajamas, a book, a small stuffed animal, a fleece blanket, and a toothbrush/toothpaste. The backpacks have been donated to the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut.

Sacred Heart School is located at 50 Sacred Heart Drive in Groton, CT.