Penny-wise

BYRAM - With top hats in their hands and a song on their lips, the third-grade class at Byram Lakes School presented representatives of the Red Cross with a donation for the Hurricane Relief Fund. Teacher Willadene Karns spearheaded the campaign, named “Joining Together for Katrina’s Children,” in which the entire school took part, beginning in September. With every donation, the students crafted a piece of a puzzle. The puzzle pieces were then joined together to create a mural that now adorns the school. Many of the first- through fourth-graders raided their piggy banks, did chores and donated their pay, sold items, from lemonade to cookies to bracelets, and even hosted neighborhood carnivals to contribute to the fund. The third-grade class welcomed the Red Cross representatives with an assembly, during which Thomas Podgurski, school principal, awarded certificates of recognition to each of the classes. Sandy Coulby and Barbara Vanderbergh, Red Cross disaster services volunteers, accepted the donation of $4,904.01, which will be used towards relief efforts in communities in the Gulf states affected by Hurricane Katrina. Vanderbergh told the students that every cent counts, because they all add up to help the victims of the disaster.