At first glance, the third-graders in room 3b at Sacred Heart Elementary School appear like any other class. But look again and you will see 24 bright-eyed kids in Penny Koreski’s class who, over the course of the school year, have raised funds for a $12,000 scholarship that will be awarded to two students from Heritage University.
The private college hails within the Yakima Nation reservation and caters to minority and low-income undergraduates in the state. A total of 95 percent of full-time undergraduates there qualify for federal financial aid and 65 percent of them have family incomes below $25,000.
The university’s low tuition costs opens the doors for many students to attend who otherwise would not receive the opportunity to pursue higher education.
The non-denominational school was founded 25 years ago by Sister Kathleen Ross, a former student of the all-girl school, Holy Names Academy on Seattle’s Capital Hill. Earlier in the year, while celebrating the 50th anniversary of her graduating class, Sister Ross joined her former classmates for a dinner and invited several to join her on a visit to Heritage University. Eager to witness the work Sister Ross had done over the past few decades, former classmate Koreski was one of a small group who took the eye-opening trip.
“When we came back from that weekend we were so impressed with those students whose education meant so much to them,” Koreski explained. “We decided as strong women we would let people on this side of the mountains know about all of the wonderful work that Sister Kathleen and her staff have been doing at Heritage University.”
To raise money for the college, some of the former classmates from Holy Names decided to host a couple of fundraising dinners, one in Seattle and one in Bellevue. At the same time, Koreski had the idea of getting her third-graders involved. The class began their fundraising efforts during Lent.
The children painted a large piggy bank with 24 flowers to represent each third-grader and named the pig “Hugh” in reference to Heritage University. Each day, the students would feed the piggy bank with change they collected from doing odd jobs at home and in the community, including the not-so-fun job of scooping up dog poop from the backyard.
“My dad said he would give me a dollar for every poop I scooped up,” third-grader Michael Chandler explained, “And my dog poops a lot.”
To keep track of the funds, each week the class selected students to take on the role of bankers to add up all the money from the piggy bank, roll the coins, and track the dollar amount in a ledger and sign it. To make it official, Koreski went to a local bank and opened an account under Heritage Book Fund. The class also hand-painted two ceramic Bookworms to be presented to the two Heritage University students along with a check for the amount raised over the course of the school year.
Witnessing her students excitement, Koreski told her class that she would match their first $1,000 they raised for the book fund.
“When I first committed to it, I could only dream that it would actually happen,” Koreski said and added, “but here we are and I couldn’t be more proud.”
As the school year progressed, the students brainstormed creative ways to get the rest of the students at Sacred Heart involved. The first school-wide fundraiser the kids put on was a bake sale that took place in February followed by a popcorn sale in March. Together the two fundraisers raised more than $500 for the book fund. For the next fundraiser, the kids sold Brown Bear Car Wash tickets to other students, teachers and parents. Brown Bear Car Wash donated $6 from each ticket sold. The car wash tickets raised close to $1,600. For the last fundraiser, the class ordered brightly-colored rubber bracelets to sell for the school’s Field Day. The bracelets helped raise an additional $800.
The young students generosity and heart for the Heritage students did not go unnoticed. Several parents, family members and teachers wanted to do their part to add to the book fund. Kris Moran, the grandmother of student Michael Moran offered to match $1,000 of the money raised by the kids. Following suit, Hahns Burg, the father of third grader’s Olivia and Peter Burg offered to match $1,000 along with Koreski’s twin sister, Pam Hamlin.
As the dollar signs increased, the momentum continued. The parents of Alex MacCord, another third-grader, offered to match the first $3,000 raised. Additional donations were made for $200 from several parents and family friends.
On May 29, Sister Ross, faculty from Heritage University, and the two students receiving the bookfund scholarship visited Sacred Heart Elementary. The third-graders presented a giant check in the amount of $12,000 to Heritage University in front of the entire student body at an all-school assembly. The money raised will cover a full year of books for two students and the additional funds will go into a scholarship for future students.
“This isn’t the end of the story,” Koreski said, calling it a life changing experience and the highlight of her career. “The reward is bigger than financial, it will go on for years and will touch so many student’s lives.”
Lindsay Larin can be reached at llarin@reporternewspapers.com or 425-453-4602.
