Lynn Kirk students help others

By JON MOFFETT

jmoffett@vindy.com

Second-graders at Lynn Kirk Elementary in Austintown are providing 100 reasons to be thankful this holiday season.

The students spent part of Thanksgiving week making 100 pumpkin pies, which were donated for a Thanksgiving dinner.

It’s the 12th year the school has made pies — this year for the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley.

The kids were thankful to be able to help out those in need.

“We’re giving pies to the people that don’t have anything for Thanksgiving,” said Julia Brooks. “It’s important because they don’t have anything to do or to eat for Thanksgiving, and we want to help.”

Classmate Robbie Beraducci added: “It’s important because the poor people don’t have enough money to buy anything for Thanksgiving, and everybody needs to have something .”

Julia and Robbie are 8 and said they are excited for Thanksgiving.

Teachers at Lynn Kirk said the students raised money to purchase the ingredients through school fundraisers. The children then took a trip to the grocery store to learn about purchasing food items first-hand.

“It’s really just a way to let the students reach out to the community and see the benefits of when you work together on giving back,” said teacher Tammi Franklin.

The students lined the gymnasium, which was transformed into a pie factory.

“We kind of have a little assembly line here,” said teacher Kim Miller.

Parents volunteered to crack eggs, open cans of pumpkin and evaporated milk and oversee production.

Students were responsible for scooping the pumpkin and mixing it with the eggs, spices, sugar and other ingredients, which then were poured into pie shells and baked in the school cafeteria.

But baking was not the lesson being taught, Franklin said.

“It really is an important outreach for them,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how much you have, because someone has less, and someone else has more. But everyone works together to build a better community.

“It’s of great importance to instill that message, especially in times like this. If you instill that when you’re younger, it becomes part of a tradition to them, almost, that when they see someone less fortunate ... it lays the foundation to help.”