Oak Hill Elementary School’s “Sweet Event” Delivers $3,015 To Services From The Heart Backpack Buddies Program

For the past 10 years, Pat Anderson, a second-grade teacher at Oak Hill, has led an O Ambassadors holiday candy-gram sale to raise money for a special charity or cause. Anderson’s class sells candy grams for $1 (the candy grams are candy canes that have a special message taped on them from a student to another person).

Students purchase the candy grams for classmates, other Oak Hill students, and Oak Hill faculty members and staff. Parents may also purchase for their own children. Students purchasing a candy gram may write a holiday message. The second-grade students in Anderson’s class sold the candy grams for one week, collected and counted the money, then taped the special holiday message to each candy cane. Students then sorted the candy grams by grade and teacher, delivered to each classroom and handed them to the students. In addition, all the candy canes used for the candy grams were donated by the amazing families at Oak Hill Elementary.

All of the money raised will go to Services From the Heart-Backpack Buddies, which serves children in Anne Arundel County. This year, the students raised $3,015, which crushed last year’s total, $2,215. The students, Anderson, the principal, assistant principal, and financial secretary presented a check for $3,015 to Cara Garside, Services from the Heart-Backpack Buddies board member, in December. The parents of the students in Anderson’s second grade class feel so fortunate that their children get to take part in this special opportunity during the holidays!

For more information about Services From the Heart-Backpack Buddies, go to www.communityservicesfromtheheart.com.