The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Starts clothing drive for those in need
By Olivia Lueckemeyer
From an early age students are encouraged to exhibit leadership, but it isn’t often that initiative is taken to meet the needs of their peers. At the Crested Butte Community School, a group of fifth graders is challenging that notion by participating in the Student Leadership Club (SLC), a league of students dedicated to performing acts of service to benefit both their school and their community.
Inspired by the overflow of inventory at valley-wide thrift stores, third-grade teacher Stevie Kremer felt compelled to organize a clothing drive for local families. Upon realizing the complexity of the task, Kremer wondered how she could involve her students in the process.
“To do it myself was a lot of work, so my principal, Sally Hensley, told me that Gunnison had a leadership club,” Kremer explained. “That is kind of what got me started.”
Simultaneously, elementary school counselor Stacey Petersen was looking for ways to involve students in service activities. Kremer’s clothing drive presented a seamless opportunity.
“I’ve always wanted to do something with the kids who want to go above and beyond, but I never quite put the idea together,” Petersen said. “Stevie’s inspiration was the clothing distribution drive, so I jumped in on the idea of a student leadership club.”
Petersen and Kremer decided to exclusively recruit fifth graders for the SLC, in hopes that they would encourage their younger peers to follow suit. Students interested in participating were asked to write an essay on ideas for projects and why they wanted to join. The club was an immediate success, with 18 students joining within the first month.
The clothing drive is the club’s first major project, and involves members promoting the project to the rest of the elementary school as well as helping Kremer with sorting and distribution. Local thrift stores have agreed to donate any excesses of clothes to the project, and according to Kremer, enthusiasm from members is exceeding expectations.
“We were originally supposed to meet once a month during lunch until the students suggested that we meet more,” Kremer said. “We now meet four times a month, if not more. They are an extraordinary group of kids and it’s super motivating.”
SLC member Liberty Hastings joined the club after hearing an announcement from Kremer over the loudspeaker. For Hastings, participating in the clothing drive was a way to fulfill her desire to contribute to her community.
“It gives me a chance to help the school, and it feels good when I do something for somebody else,” Hastings explained. “So far the clothing drive has gone really well. We’ve already had people respond who need clothes.”
In addition to the clothing drive, SLC members are responsible for acting as proponents of the monthly Titan Trait. Spearheaded by Petersen, the Titan Traits program, a refined version of the formerly used “morals of the month,” is meant to promote a variety of character strengths proven to contribute to a child’s later life success.
“I had been doing some reading and research, and I came to realize that there are a lot of character traits that are indicative of a kid’s future success,” Petersen said. “I shifted some of the previously used ‘morals of the month’ to some research-based character strengths that have shown to be important for success in college and beyond.”
Each month a different trait is encouraged, such as respect, self-control, initiative, perseverance, flexibility, optimism and more. Starting in January, SLC members will help communicate these traits to the lower grades by performing a skit at a monthly assembly. Hastings said the objective is to convey the trait in a way that all ages can identify with.
“We want to introduce it in a way that makes sense and is appropriate for everyone, so the little kids can understand it too,” Hastings said.
Endorsing the Titan Traits will extend outside of assemblies, Petersen explained. SLC members will create posters and decorate bulletin boards, and Petersen has also encouraged teachers to integrate the trait into their curriculum.
“I give teachers ideas every month when I send out the trait to try to promote it,” Petersen said. “I try to make the topic make sense with what they are talking about in class at the time.”
In deciding the club’s next major project, Kremer and Petersen are leaving it up to the members. In doing so, both women hope to encourage independent thinking and enterprise.
“We are hoping to let them do something they want to see happen and move forward with it,” Petersen said. “It’s fun to be able to give them that freedom because that is how we shape our leaders.”
“It’s pretty amazing, these kids are so into helping,” Kremer said. “They don’t care if meetings go into their lunch, they don’t care about any of that. It’s pretty incredible.”
To learn more about the SLC, the clothing drive, or to suggest future projects, contact [email protected].
