Granite Bay Elementary Students and Dr. Clark Help Lousiana Children in Need
(GRANITE BAY, Calif.) – More than 400 pounds of new and gently-used children’s clothing, shoes and books were collected by kindergarten and first graders at Oakhills Elementary School in Granite Bay and shipped to students in need at the Donaldsonville Primary School in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of two Granite Bay mothers, Susan Goodrich and prominent local plastic surgeon Dr. Christa Clark and the local elementary school children, more than 20 boxes were filled over the course of two weeks.
Goodrich, the mother of two Oakhills Elementary first-graders, was inspired to do something for the students of Donaldsonville Primary School after hearing about their poor living conditions from her niece, Kaitlin McCahan, who teaches for the Teach for America program in Donaldsonville. Goodrich thought that a clothing and shoe drive would get the students the items they desperately needed while teaching her own children a priceless message about making a difference.
“When Kaitlin told me about her students, who are the same ages as mine, living in public housing with no electricity or water, their only meals the ones given to them at school, their toes poking through their shoes, it just broke my heart and I immediately wanted to do something to help,” said Goodrich. “A clothing and shoe drive seemed like the natural solution.”
Goodrich enlisted the help of her children’s first-grade teachers, Mrs. Kim Emory and Mrs. Mette Nagel as well as kindergarten teacher Mrs. Kristin Child to involve students and parents in the drive. To address the challenge of getting all the donated items to the Donaldsonville students, Oakhills Elementary mother Dr. Christa Clark of Kaufman & Clark Plastic Surgery in Folsom volunteered to pay for the shipping costs.
“Every child needs to feel cherished and important, so when I heard about the clothing and shoe drive at school I was compelled to help in any way possible,” said Dr. Clark. “The least I could do was offer to cover the shipping costs to ensure all the items that were graciously donated arrived safe and sound. Hopefully, this outpouring of love and support from strangers across the country will let the Donaldsonville students know they are not alone.”
The Donaldsonville Primary School has begun receiving the shipments and the Community Liaison for the school has begun the process of distributing all the donated items throughout the community. Some of the items will be used for the school’s “Giving Tree” project that fulfills specific needs of students.
“The generosity of this community made this clothing and shoe drive a huge success,” said Mrs. Kim Emory, first grade teacher at Oakhills Elementary. “The amount of donations of both used and brand new items has been overwhelming and has taught our children a valuable lesson about helping those in need.”
The Oakhills Elementary School is located on Twin Schools Road in Granite Bay, CA.
