Elementary school kids look forward to recess more than anything else. Before going back to class, they can run, climb, and talk as loud as they want during recess. But a few kids at Glen Lake Elementary School in Hopkins, Minnesota, saw that not everyone got to play.
There are a lot of students at the school who can’t play on the playground equipment because they have physical problems. Children who use wheelchairs can’t play on the equipment, so they have to sit on the sidelines and watch their classmates play.
The other students at Glen Lake didn’t agree with this fact. They asked Betsy Julien, their teacher, what they could do so that the other kids could play with them during recess. The kids didn’t give up when they heard that new, more accessible equipment would cost $300,000. They promised to get the money any way they could, and with the help of their teacher, they got to work.
In order to raise money for the adaptive playground equipment, the kids started collecting spare change, having bake sales, and even cold-calling businesses. The students worked for months to raise the money, and with help from the community, they just recently reached their goal. Rhys Riley, a student in Julien’s class, told CBS News through tears, “I was just really happy that we made it.”
One of the kids who would get to use the new playground equipment told CBS, “First time I set foot on this playground, I’m probably going to start crying from seeing the effort all the school has made.”
Since they’ve reached their goal, these kids aren’t stopping. They are trying to raise enough money to buy adaptive playground equipment for other schools in the district so that no child has to sit out during recess. The kids’ kindness and determination are really impressive.