Christmas is a time of giving, and students at Keenburg Elementary put that belief into action.
Each year, the third-grade students at Keenburg conduct a service project instead of exchanging gifts among themselves.
For this year’s project, third-grade teacher Julie Wilcox said the students sold “Brody Bucks” to help raise money to benefit 11-month old Brody McInturff’s family. Brody was born with one of the rarest forms of spina bifida and has no feeling or movement from his hips down.
While third-grade students started the project, all of the Keenburg student body and faculty participated. Through the project, students created their own “Brody Bucks” and collected a $1 donations for each buck.
The donor’s name then was written on the buck and placed on a display on the wall at Keenburg.
Third-grade students at Keenburg hosted a Christmas party Thursday and invited Brody and his parents to be the guests of honor.
During the party, fourth-grade student Temperance Lovette presented Brody’s mother, Lauren McInturff, with the money collected during the Brody Bucks drive.
Through the combined efforts of all the Keenburg students, $1,047 in cash and gift cards was raised for Brody. Lovette was the individual student who raised the most, collecting more than $160.
McInturff, who used to teach at Keenburg Elementary, said the drive was a complete surprise to her and her husband Daniel.
“They said they were having a Christmas party and wanted us to come,” she said. “I didn’t expect anything like this. It is just unbelievable. This is what Christmas is all about, being there for someone else.”
McInturff plans to share all the stories of the community’s support with Brody as he gets older.
“I hope that it inspires him to pay it forward and help someone else when he is able to,” she said.
Brody turns 1-year-old on Jan. 6.