Newspaper Page Text
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l - FORSYTH county NEWS - Wednesday, December 17,2003
Students work to give back to community for holidays
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
Starting each November, a
spirit of altruism mingles with
the holiday merriment and
inspires people to help needy
members of the community.
The youngest in Forsyth
County, those who may seem
to have the least to give and
the most to receive during the
holidays, gave a lot back this
year.
Through the classroom,
Forsyth County students gave
everything from bicycles to
goats to needy families across
the world.
North Forsyth High School
kicked off the season of giving
on Nov. 10 with a canned food
drive organized by the Future
Business Leaders of America.
The group stockpiled 1,678
cans of food in one week, well
past their goal of 1,000 cans,
for The Place's annual holiday
food distribution to residents
of Forsyth County, FBLA
teacher sponsor Shannon
Anderson-Rush said.
While high school students
filled empty stomachs,
Mashburn Elementary stu
dents filled empty stockings.
For the first two weeks in
December, Mashburn student
council members in the third,
fourth and fifth grades collect
ed new, unwrapped toys as
stocking stuffers.
"We were trying to collect
toys for kids who are poor,”
said Cullen Allen. 8, who is a
third-grader at Mashburn.
"So they don't have to suf
fer and so they have some
thing to put in their stocking,"
student council president D.J.
Armstrong, 10, added.
First-grade teacher Kinla
Nelson, who helped coordi
nate the project, explained that
the student council wanted to
do something to fill children's
stockings because most chart-
Survey finds college-age adults
increased card debt by 42 percent
According to the annual
Credit Card Survey by
Myvesta.org, a nonprofit con
sumer education organization,
college-age adults have
increased their amount of
credit card debt by 42 percent
over the past year. Those aged
18-24 are now carrying an
average balance of $1,208 on
their credit cards, up from
$849 in 2002. These results
come as Americans on the
whole are reducing debt car
ried on their cards. According
to the Myvesta.org survey, the
average American now has
$2,294 in credit card debt,
down from $3,250 in 2002.
“I see a large gap between
college-age adults and older
Americans when it comes to
money,” said Steve Rhode,
president and co-founder of
Myvesta.org. “Many younger
Americans have not gone
through any significant period
of economic hardship. They
are used to having what they
want, when they want it. Since
college students usually don’t
have a large cash flow, they
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ties deliver toys to go under
the Christmas tree.
Wearing red Santa hats and
jingle bells, student council
members took turns soliciting
donations in the halls of
Mashburn.
"The hats and jingle bells
felt weird," fifth-grader Eric
Johnson, 10, said.
"They were really itchy,"
said fourth-grader Hunter
Brown, who is "almost 10"
years old, about the Santa
hats. The furry hats "feel like
my grandpa's cat," one little
girl in Nelson's first-grade
class said.
With guidance from teach
ers Traci Wallace and Karen
Heard, the Mashburn student
council collected three large
boxes of small toys like Hot
Wheels cars and decorative
glitter that Hands Across
Forsyth will deliver to needy
children in the community.
Another class at Mashburn
broadened their world view by
helping people who live in
poor countries.
Allison Lundgren's fourth
graders raised SIOO by doing
chores at home and bought
two goats for families in Latin
America or Africa through
Samaritan's Purse, an interna
tional faith-based charity.
"They don't have stores
and money like we do,"
Naomi Ergun, 9, said about
the families who will benefit
from their donations.
The children brain stormed
several uses for the goats,
such as drinking the milk, sell
ing the offspring, using the
goat as a "lawn mower" and
weaving a blanket out of its
fur.
On Thursday, Dec. 11,
Pinecrest Academy students
used their gifts of creativity to
bless others. Fifth- through
ninth-grade girls at Pinecrest
donated their lunch time and
free time to crochet scarves
are viewing credit cards as a
way to charge what they want
today, without having to worry
about paying for it until
tomorrow.”
While various consumer
groups and legislators have
pushed to ban credit card mar
keting on college campuses,
Rhode argues that on-campus
marketing has little to do with
higher college debt loans.
“Banning credit cards mar
keting on college campuses
because some students have
gotten into debt would be like
banning pizza places on cam
pus because some of the stu
dents have gained weight,”
Rhode said. “It all comes
down to personal responsibili
ty when you choose to eat too
much or spend outside of your
means.
“Credit cards are a neces
sary part of life and are a use
ful tool to use when making
purchases. Instead of trying to
keep cards out of the hands of
students, let’s concentrate on
teaching them how to use
credit the right way.”
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EDUCATION
for men at the Trinity Men's
Shelter in the Atlanta area.
They joined the efforts of a
Norcross-based club called
"Crocheting for Charity" that
committed to making 400
scarves for the men this win
ter.
Santa loaned a few elves to
the Forsyth County Schools
Warehouse and Purchasing
Department to fix used bicy
cles for local children. Staff,
students and parents in the
school system donated used or
new bicycles and submitted
the names of children who
need a special surprise this
Christmas. The five employ
ees at the Warehouse
Department stayed after hours
to repair the bicycles.
"We get them in presenta
ble shape to give to kids who
wouldn’t get a bike," purchas
ing coordinator Bob Branch
said.
As of Friday, the depart
ment had 15 bicycles in mint
condition, ready for pickup on
Dec. 17. Branch said they
have plenty of bicycles
remaining for the 26 needy
families Daves Creek
Elementary School "adopted"
this season.
Branch started this project
five years ago. When Branch's
father was young, his mother
repaired an old, used bicycle
for his Christmas present
because She could not afford a
new one.
Raised in a poor sharecrop
ping family, Branch's father
cherished that bicycle and still
that Christmas stands out in
his mind, Branch said.
Touched by the effect an old
bike could have on a child
who sorely needs it, Branch
decided to do the same for
Forsyth County children.
As of this year, 125 bicy
cles have been donated
through the program.
Branch said he hopes the
large package on Christmas
morning will let underprivi
leged children know that they
are as special as children who
receive many presents.
"No matter what the condi
tion, all kids are special,"
Branch said.
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Christmas Eve - Wednesday, December 24
10 AM - Christmas and Caring Service of Hope
for those who have suffered loss
Candlelight and Holy Communion:
The Pipe Organ will begin playing 30 minutes prior to these services:
5:00 PM - Family Service
7:00 PM - Traditional Service
10:45 PM - Service of Eucharist and Special Music
Childcare for infants through age 3
* ~~T\ except the 10:45 pm service
Cumming First
101/ United Methodist Church
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(2 miles west of Cumming on Hwy 20)
■JILf vjjireP Rev. John L. Cromartie, Jr.
Senior Pastor
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Photo/ Audra Perry
Mashburn Elementary Student Council members collected three large boxes of new
toys to fill stockings that might otherwise be empty this holiday. The third-, fourth- and
fifth-graders on the council stood in the halls of Mashburn for two weeks in
December jingling bells and wearing Santa hats to attract donations.
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Photo/Submitted
Kindergartners Marisa and Alexa Hull, left and right, give stocking stuffers to
Mashburn Elementary Student Council member Hunter Brown, 9, as part of a project
to collect small toys for needy children in Forsyth County.
Help a child
and have some fun. S IO
Our activity book with (D is a natural for all kids,
and benefits Donald McDonald House.
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