Third grade class donates money to ambulance
Jacob Doran/Bigfork Eagle — "Jake, Elwood and the Girls" tap dancers Mack Paine, Jenica Thomson, Devinn Paine, Zachary Moore, Victoria Grant, Abby Grant and Breanna Hathaway perform to the classic Blues Brothers tune, "Soul Man."
Bigfork Eagle
Cory Pierce's class of 16 third graders from Bigfork Elementary showed up at the Bigfork Fire Hall last week with a very large present. They had a check for $825 for Bigfork Ambulance raised in only one week by — get this — reading.
In honor of February being "I love to read month" and in the spirit of the third grade's emphasis on community, the class gave up all things electronic — TV, video games and the like — and instead devoted that time to playing outside and reading. To raise the money, the kids got parents and friends to pledge a certain amount per minute they read from a chapter book for the week.
The result, according to an enthusiastic show of hands from the class and a cacophony of answers, was a surprising amount of fun. Students reported to Mr. Pierce that they'd discovered plenty of fun things to do that didn't require a wall outlet and that reading can be quite a good time.
Katie Edwards and Tony Turk of Bigfork Ambulance were shocked by the amount and told the kids that the money would be spent on equipment to help save lives.
"It's so nice to see these young kids donate," Edwards said. "It shows they have a sense of being part of a community."
The kids, in turn, got a tour of the fire hall and an up-close look in the business end of an ambulance. And their only regret?
"We should have done it for two weeks," they said.