Preschooler Ella Connelly put her sponge into the soapy water and pulled it out.
After squeezing some of the water out she sat down on the floor and wiped the suitcase in front of her.
Connelly and her classmates participated in Servathon 2009 at Oakland Christian School, Clarkston Community Church campus in Independence Township, .
Preschoolers, kindergartners, and first and second graders worked on three different community service projects.
‘We looked for needs in our local community and worldwide,? said OCS Principal Erin Akers.
The preschoolers worked on ‘dignity bags? for Big Family of Michigan. Dignity bags are new or gently used suitcases given to children in the foster care system.
The diginty bags give foster child a place to put the few belonging they have in a bag of their own – instead of using a large, black garbage bag.
The students cleaned the suitcases inside and out and then put together care packages – in which they picked out a coloring book, crayons, toothbrush, hairbrush and a few other tokens to show they care.
The preschoolers also made cards adding their own personal touches with stamps, stickers and drawings to say Happy Birthday or just a hello to show someone is thinking about them.
The kindergartners participated in Grace Centers of Hope, Change for Hope campaign. Grace Centers of Hope is raising half a million dollars to build a childcare and early education center the children.
Kindergartners worked together to sort all of the change OCS collected from families and the community. After sorting, they counted the change and rolled them.
The first and second graders worked together on Little Dresses for Africa. They collected pillowcases and with the help from parent volunteers, cut and sewed them into dresses. They also made little dolls to put into a pocket of each dress. The dresses go to little girls in one of Africa’s hardest hit areas.
Every year students participate in the Servathon to learn about giving and take the opportunity to give back to someone else.
For more information, visit www.oaklandchristian.com.