Take two energetic, innovative PTA Co-Presidents, add three dedicated teachers, plus one committed principal.  What does this equal?  Collins Cares, the Collins Elementary School yearlong integrated community service program which includes every child and grade and multiple benefits for the community.

The idea began last March when PTA Co-Presidents Liz Conklin and Stefanie Lichtstein wanted students to learn more about community service.  "I think last year most students thought a food bank was a bank that gave out food," Conklin noted.

For many years at the school, either the PTA or the student council sponsored drives in which students brought in items from home and placed them in a "drop off" box. 

Both Conklin and Lichstein said students didn't learn much when parents purchased the items, placed them in their children's backpacks, and the students simply dropped them in a box before the school day.

"This is about kids taking ownership, and learning about what other children don't have," added Conklin. 

The duo got together with Principal John Leister and the three teachers overseeing the student council: Greer Gelman, Angela Selnick, and Nicole Stranix. The group combined forces and created Collins Cares.

In Collins Cares, each grade takes on a service project, then the students rally the other grades by creating posters and making presentations to them.

First off was the fourth grade project, Soles 4 Souls.  The school held a pep rally and students saw a video created by Lichtstein and Conklin about this organizaton.  "We wanted the kids to understand.  How would you feel if you went to school without shoes?" explained Lichtstein.

Fourth graders made posters and presentations to explain the drive to the other classes. To further develop empathy, the school held a "Mismatched Shoe Day." Students were encouraged to bring in old shoes that no longer fit them.   The co-presidents said they did not want parents to go out and buy new items, but wanted the kids to take charge by going through closets.

The fourth-graders collected almost 1,000 pirs of shoes and parent volunteers donated them at a drop-off center in Edison.

Next up was the third-grade classes organizing a Thanksgiving food collection for The Bridges Outreach in  Morristown, NJ. The third graders created stickers for each grade asking students to bring in specific items for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Class parents helped organize craft supplies and supervised the poster designs.  "We had enough items for 75 Thanksgivng meals," Leister said. 

In addition to organizing the baskets, each third grader decorated a food basket and created a Thanksgiving card.

Work is  beginning on the fifth grade/kindergarten project.  Fifth graders are pairing up with kindergarteners for a combined Cycle for Survival and toy drive. 

Many teachers, including Gelman, have participated in the Cycle for Survival fundraiser.  To connect the two projects, toys collected will be donated to children at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Following this project, the first grade will sponsor a pajama and book drive, while the second grade will finish the year with a pet food drive for the Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter.

Conklin and Lichstein are already making plans for next year's Collins Cares, and are thinking of adding coats, blankets and stuffed animals to the list of drives.

"We want this to be things the kids can relate to, items that are already in their house," explained Lichtstein.

"The kids have absorbed the lessons.  We are energized by their enthusiasm," Conklin stated. 

To learn more about the Collins Cares project, click on the webpage.