Cameron Elementary Students Want to ‘Be the Reason Someone Smiles Today’

First and second grade students at Cameron Elementary School led the student body and teachers in celebrating Autism and Limb Loss Awareness Month with a lemonade stand, bake sale and more.

April was a special month for the first-grade teachers. Jocelyn Czapp’s daughter, Sarah, is a young lady with limb loss, and Mandi Chaplin ‘s son, Blake, is a young man with Autism. Together, the moms of special needs children created a month of learning about individuals with different abilities and how to spread acceptance and kindness. They read many stories, created their own class puzzles to show that everyone had a special place, and built prosthetics for a stuffed animal.

This lesson is a key reason why Cameron Elementary students have such a great understanding and acceptance for classmates with special needs.

Second grade got in on the action a few years ago and started having a lemonade stand during school. The second graders advertised, set up, made, sold and cleaned up for their project. They split their profits and donated half to the Fish Crick Chicks to donate to Marshall County Special Olympics and to Shriners Hospitals for Children, Erie.

This year, first grade students wanted to have a bake sale, in addition to second grade’s lemonade stand. They, too, stepped up to all of the tasks needed to run a successful business.

With the help of some very patient Cameron High School students, the baking skills of Holly Pettit’s Home Economics class and the faithful support of the students and community of Cameron Elementary School, it was a very successful.

As always, the Cameron Elementary community rallied behind such a meaningful, lifelong lesson.