Cake mix, candles and community are the ingredients to Ranch Creek Elementary School’s school-wide service project. To commemorate the September 11 National Day of Service, the RCES student-body has come together to serve the greater Colorado Springs area.
Karie Ebbens, Principal of RCES said, “As educators, it is our job to make sure our students know why we honor this day and why we want to serve our community on this day.”
The school, in partnership with the RCES Parent Teacher Association (PTA), organized a school-wide initiative crafting birthday boxes and handmade cards for local non-profits. KOAA News 5 covered the event, sharing this initiative with the entire Colorado Springs community.
Through student donations, nearly 100 boxes were packaged and equipped with celebration essentials including cake-mix, candles, balloons, sprinkles and frosting. By grade level, students packed the ingredients before they were wrapped and transported to the Colorado Springs Salvation Army to support other families in need.
“By doing this service project, and honoring this day, we can keep the memory of 9/11 alive,” Ebbens explained. Furthermore, Ebbens said she’d like the RCES community to feel united just as many did in the days after 9/11.
“That day shifted all our lives. I’m thankful to remember how we felt the day after, and that’s the feeling I hope our students have when they come together for their community."
