Texas Border Business
All it took was the first cold front to blow in to prompt Aracely Rodriguez, a third-grader at Pearson Elementary, to help out one of her classmates that came to school without a jacket. She went home that day and asked her mom if she could take her big brother’s jacket and gloves to a classmate that needed them, to which her mom gave consent. The next day she gave him the jacket and gloves which made him very happy and thankful.
It didn’t stop there for Aracely, she knew she still wanted to do more. On Blanket Day which is an incentive activity for schools where students can bring a blanket to school for the day she noticed not everyone had one. Aracely again reached out to her mom and told her she wanted to start a blanket drive. After requesting permission from Principal Melissa Davis and getting her authorization, she began with the drive.
“Our goal was 399 blankets and we met our goal. The donations came from the teachers, family members, and my mom’s co-workers,” states Aracely. “I want to continue to do this every year.”
Aracely and her mom collaborated and reached out to those they knew to support their efforts. The blankets that were donated for this year, not only went to all the students that needed one on their campus but they were also able to help families from the surrounding area.
“When my daughter wanted to do something for the students that didn’t have blankets, it just made me cry because I was so proud of her,” states Claudia Rodriguez, Aracely’s mother.
According to Mrs. Davis, Aracely wrote a letter requesting support for her Aracely’s Winterland Project. She then stood in front of the student body which included all the teachers to ask for their help. She received an overwhelming amount of support through collaborative efforts and was able to help many students and families.
