Tulsa World: Service is key

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Service is key

Booker T. Washington High School student Emily Sloan gives Greeley Elementary School students Anthony Alberthy (left) and Eric Phillip their new backpacks, which Key Club members put together. Stephen Pingry/Tulsa World

By ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Published: 11/25/2008 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 11/25/2008 2:41 AM

High school club donates backpacks

A special surprise awaited Joshua Price and Carlissa Harris at the end of their Monday morning safety patrol shift.

The fifth-graders were the last students at Greeley Elementary School to claim the brand-new backpacks stuffed with school supplies that volunteers from Booker T. Washington High School's Key Club had delivered for every child at Greeley.

"This will help, because sometimes we lose our pencils," Joshua said.

"Yeah, I need folders and stuff, and we do need more pencils," Carlissa chimed in.

Members of Booker T. Washington's Key Club chose Greeley for its "Backpacks Benefitting Students" project by researching local schools with a high percentage of students from low-income families, said Taylor Derr, club president and a Washington senior.

Greeley, at 105 E. 63rd St. North, has 94 percent of its students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches.

The Key Club, which is a service organization, applied for special project funds from its parent organization, Kiwanis International, and received $2,000 to buy clear vinyl backpacks for every child. The group's 250 members then donated school supplies to fill the bags.

More than 50 of those Key Club members were on hand Monday to surprise Greeley students with the backpacks and doughnuts and juice when they arrived for school.

"I can't even describe how much our kids need this," Greeley Principal Raye Nero said.

"This has been in the making since the beginning of the (school) year, and it has taken a while to come to fruition, but it's nice the way it worked out so they can have their supplies replenished. This also gives them a sense that people care about them."

Nero was so impressed by the Booker T. Washington Key Club members that she invited them to come back and read to Greeley students.

Andrea Eger 581-8470
andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com By ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment Missy M, on the block (11/25/2008 3:49:54 AM) I bet those children loved those backpacks and the doughnuts.Yum I'd like to have one now.
	Report Comment BayouGirl, Owasso (11/25/2008 9:55:22 AM) What a positive thing to do! This will leave a lasting impression on these young students. Everyone needs a helping hand now and again and these teens have learned a lesson that will stay with them for life. Thanks be to God that there are still programs like the Key Club to foster good will among young people.
	Report Comment Proud Muslim, Tulsa: Coolest place in the world (almost) (11/25/2008 11:31:22 AM) Beautiful.
	Report Comment Cali-Girl, (11/25/2008 12:04:35 PM) Not sure what to think of this.

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