Thumbs up to group for giving to Red Cross

Thumbs up to Williamsburg Technical College’s Alpha Sigma Gamma chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, which recently raised $750 for the American Red Cross. The Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society recognizes and encourages academic achievement of two-year college students and provides opportunities for individual growth and development through honors, leadership and service programming. From July 1 to April 30, the Red Cross assisted 138 people in Williamsburg County who lost their homes to fires, 53 of whom were children, Red Cross Coastal South Carolina Chapter Director of Public Support Nanci Conley said. She said $23,660 was provided to them to assist with their immediate emergency needs of food, clothing and shelter. The Pee Dee chapter of the American Red Cross serves Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion and Marlboro counties. Like the Coastal South Carolina chapter and all others, it receives no funding from state or federal governments, only from private contributions and local United Ways. For details about how to help, visit Pee Dee chapter’s Web site, http://peedee.redcross.org. Or, call the Pee Dee Chapter at (843) 662-8121, ext. 120, or (800) 273-3073, ext. 120, for donation information, or mail donations to The American Red Cross, Pee Dee Chapter, 1601-A W. Lucas St., Florence, SC 29501.

Thumbs up to West Hartsville Elementary School for receiving $1,000 from SPC Credit Union by participating in its Youth Week contest. Youth Week is celebrated by credit unions nationwide to encourage the practice of saving money. This year’s theme, “The Magic of Saving,” was intended to demonstrate how money “magically” grows when deposited in saving accounts. The contest was open to all schools and required an online registration. Kindergarten through high school had to complete events all week including coloring activities, essays and online scavenger hunts. West Hartsville Elementary was selected as the overall winner and earned a $1,000 check to educate students about savings. “The contest allowed me the opportunity to talk to my students about money and saving for their future,” said Ashley Gedris, a teacher at West Hartsville Elementary who was in charge of the contest for the school. “I feel it is very important for everyone to learn about money and saving at a young age. The SPCCU writing contest allowed my students to demonstrate their creative writing abilities and allowed me the opportunity to educate them about finance.” Dr. Kay Howell, principal, said students benefited from experience by thinking about how to save money. “Children often think money is easy to get because they do not have to work to earn it,” Howell said. It’s never too early to learn about wise spending and maintaining a budget, and we applaud West Hartsville Elementary for implementing that lesson.

Thumbs up to Cathy Garland, media specialist at All Saint’s Episcopal Day School in Florence, for being awarded the Sylvan Dell Publishing Resource Grant for the school. This one-year site license provides unlimited access to all 44 Sylvan Dell eBooks, featuring flipviewer technology with selectable English and Spanish text and audio. The license can be used on all school computers and may be placed on secure school Web sites (if available), enabling students and their families to log in and have access from their homes. Teachers throughout the school are able to project the books in the classroom for reading to supplement or to introduce science and math through literature to their students. “We would like to use it schoolwide as much as possible to ensure that most of our students are exposed to these books and the enrichment activities that come with them,” Garland said. Kudos to Garland for her initiative in securing this educational resource for her school. For more details about the books or the grant, visit http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com.