Lombard students give back during first Service Week
The parent-teacher association at one Lombard Elementary District 44 school has taken Superintendent Ted Stec's motto, "We're all in this together," to heart and organized its first service week.
Park View Service Week concludes Friday with each grade level at Park View Elementary having completed a project to help others in need.
Kindergarten students, for example, collected boxes of macaroni and cheese, built them into a "Macaroni Mountain," then donated them to food pantries.
The first-grade project benefited Ronald McDonald House by collecting gallon storage bags and aluminum foil for house kitchens and making get-well cards for hospitalized kids.
Second-graders, meanwhile, decorated lunch bags Thursday for guests of the Hesed House homeless services center in Aurora.
The third-grade class hosted a book drive.
The fourth-grade class collected coats, gloves, mittens and hats for Outreach House in Lombard. Fifth-graders also helped Outreach House by collecting diapers and baby supplies.
Park View PTA President Mia Gonzales said in a news release the organization was "inspired by the direction of our district," including a new strategic plan called Connect 44 led by Stec and other top administrators.
Gonzales and Park View Principal Roberta Wallerstedt started service week to teach students to "think bigger and beyond themselves," Gonzales said.
The week will conclude with an assembly that will double as an honor ceremony for veterans.