Golden Apple: Horace May Students in Bemidji Spread Kindness to Village of Hope

Students at Horace May Elementary in Bemidji have recently been learning about kindness and how a simple kind gesture can really help those in need.

Students of Kate Pearson’s second grade class have recently been reading from a book that’s been teaching them all about being kind and helping those in need. The entire class then wanted to help the community in some way, so they decided to make gift bags for Village of Hope in Bemidji, an emergency shelter for families experiencing homelessness.

“It all started out through a story that we read in our reading book called ‘Kids Can Be Big Helpers.’ So we were learning how an author writes persuasively, trying to get you to do something, take action on an issue,” explained Pearson. “They learned how to help at home, how to help at school, and how to help in the community. And we decided to help in the community.”

Ms. Pearson put a note out to parents for possible donations with the hope of making 12 bags for the shelter. “That was my hope. We ended up making 46, so that was very exciting.”

The students filled the bags with items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, washcloths and much more. But when the students learned that kids would also be receiving these bags, they wanted to do something extra.

“I talked to the boys and girls and said, ‘How about if we do this art bag?’ And so we shared our crayons, our extra pencils. We had some blank books and then they chose some coloring pages we copied. And we put that together as a way to help the children that come to Village of Hope,” added Pearson. “And I asked my students, ‘What would you like to get? What would be fun for you?’ And so that’s how those came about.”

The students say that giving to those in need is a great feeling, and they couldn’t be happier doing it.

“It feels good because we’re helping people,” said 2nd grade student Faith. “We know that people don’t always get as much as we have, so giving people things helps us be happier.”

“But it feels really good to help other people and it was really fun to make it,” stated 2nd grader Eli. “I liked it and it was really fun.”

“It feels really nice inside and it feels good,” added another student, Kora. “It’s just fun helping people.”

Village of Hope was very appreciative of the second graders for their donations.

“Thank you so much, Horace May. We appreciate everything your super second graders did for the Village of Hope,” said Jyll Gudvangen, a case manager for the shelter. “This means a tremendous amount to us. We love when the community steps up and everybody becomes responsible for this village.”

And to show to whoever gets the bags that someone out there cares, the second graders also added handwritten notes in each of them.