Two of the best traits a well-rounded person can develop in life are a love of reading and the willingness to help others in need.
Oxford High School DECA members Courtney McGraw and Holly Marshall have teamed up with Chris Heins, owner of the Oxford Big Boy, to promote these traits in a first-grade class at Pine Tree Elementary in Lake Orion.
From Oct. 1 until January, for every 10 books the 26 students in teacher Marion McGraw’s (Courtney’s mother) first-grade class read, Oxford Big Boy will donate five books to Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
Dubbed “Reading Big for Boys and Girls: Pine Tree’s Helping Hands Read for Children’s Hospital,” the marketing club project is designed to promote the Oxford Big Boy through its community involvement and charity work.
“It’s always better to work with kids in the community,” Courtney McGraw said. “It shows a little more about the business if they care about the kids.”
“It’s a good opportunity to work with the kids and get Big Boy involved with the community,” Marshall said of the project.
The students are keeping track of all the books they read in special logs.
Each month the class is scheduled to meet at Big Boy to show McGraw and Marshall how much they’ve read and receive a free lunch.
“It’s a little party for them because they’re doing all the work,” McGraw said.
When asked why Children’s Hospital of Michigan was chosen as the beneficiary of this project’s positive work, McGraw replied, “Because it’s kind of neat to see the kids giving back to other kids.”
Along with promoting the Oxford Big Boy and benefiting Children’s Hospital, the project is also helping to promote literacy among the students.
“It’s important to keep kids reading and anything that can do that is a good thing,” Marshall said.
Teacher Marion McGraw said her daughter’s project, which she described as “altruistic,” fits perfectly with her class curriculum.
“I encourage a lot of reading in my classroom and my parents are extremely supportive of that,” she said. “(The project) goes right along with what we’re teaching at school – not only is reading important, but we’re doing something for the community and other little kids.”