Brooklyn teacher Shannon Brown always tries to teach the virtue of giving to her fourth-grade students at PS 107 in Park Slope. Now they are practicing what she preaches.
Celebrating the Thanksgiving spirit, the students have been decorating shopping bags for God’s Love We Deliver, a non-profit that delivers nutritious meals to adults and children living with serious illnesses all over the tri-state area.
God’s Love We Deliver helps to bring 4,000 meals to people and their families every holiday season. The students’ bags – brightly colored with pumpkins, hand turkeys, hearts and smiles – will be part of that effort as care packages are delivered to many people in need of assistance at this time of year.
Ms. Shannon, as her students call her, was excited to see the students’ enthusiasm for this year’s project.
“They all love the opportunity to help and give back. I myself have been volunteering with God’s Love We Deliver for many years so to see their joy in helping is so warm and amazing.”
Fourth grader Niamh Payne worked hard decorating her bag, knowing it would bring a smile to others.
“Some people need help and we can help them, she said. “We are working on these bags so that they can bring food to a lot of people that need it.
“Thanksgiving is a time when we should help as many people as we can,” Niamh said.
Her classmate, Noah Hamilton, agreed. “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is being with my family. So, it is important to help people so that they can have a good dinner with their family.
“There are a lot of sick people and they need our help,” Noah added. “These people might not be able to go shopping or to cook, so being able to help with that means so much because then they too can have a very happy Thanksgiving.”
Checking in with all of the young helpers was Emmet Findley of God’s Love We Deliver.
“I have known Ms. Shannon for many years and since she has been here at PS 107, she has been getting her students involved.
“Today, seeing how happy they all are to be helping inspires me to keep going. They all want to help and that is the spirit of Thanksgiving. Being able to help and provide so many people with the holiday that they deserve.
“These kids are able to deliver so much more than bags of food — it really is amazing to see.”
