Riley Student Council donates to SALUTE, Inc.

Student council members from Riley Elementary School in Arlington Heights raised funds and donated to SALUTE, Inc., a local organization supporting active duty military members, veterans, and their families.

The $1,453 donation was presented at an end-of-year assembly to Sgt. Brad Schwarz, an Army veteran, and Mary Beth Beiersdorf, founder and executive director of SALUTE, Inc.

"It was nice for the kids to see that their hard work resulted in something tangible," said Karyn Zima, Riley teacher and Student Council sponsor. "Having students involved in presenting our donation to SALUTE and seeing Sgt. Schwarz receive the gift was powerful to them."

The Student Council sold scented pencils to classmates, hosted a used book sale and sponsored a school dance to raise money for the donation. The group identified it wanted to help individuals or families locally and selected SALUTE because it is based in the community and supports service members and families.

With the funds raised at Riley, Beiersdorf was able to purchase a laptop, case and software to present to Schwarz during the assembly. Schwarz, who was retired after being severely injured in the line of duty, requested the laptop to help him reintegrate into civilian life. Humbled by their generosity and wanting to show his appreciation to the Riley students, Schwarz presented the school with a uniform jacket that he wore while on duty in Iraq.

"This experience provided each student a real understanding of what it means to have an impact on someone's life," Beiersdorf said. "'Honor the Service and Remember the Sacrifice' of our military members and their families is our motto and that's exactly what they did."

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