Mrs. Crabb’s fourth grade students at Superior Elementary School got into the spirit of things and raised funds to purchase gifts for families in need this holiday season. With the help of some local businesses and students they raised $888.04 to purchase the gifts from local businesses.

The gifts were delivered to the Women in Timber in Superior. The women’s group put together around 100 baskets in the 4-H building at the fair grounds on Thursday. The baskets were then delivered by the Lion’s Club on Saturday, Dec. 16 to families throughout Mineral County.

To raise money students put decorated cans at local businesses and they challenged other classes at the school. The class that raised the most money would be rewarded with an ice cream party. The first graders won and raised $195.76.

“We have a fantastic community,” said Crabb. “It’s amazing to see the generosity of the residents. In one of the cans there were three $20 bills.”

Each one of the 25 fourth-grade students received $37 to spend. The Women in Timber gave some gift ideas but the students mostly picked out what to buy. Gifts ranged from stuffed toys, to fishing poles, games, dolls, sparkly pillows, and snow caps.

Crabb has been doing this for 12 years and incorporates several teaching tools into the project. It teaches her students the joy of giving back to the community and they also learn about how money flows through the local economy. By raising funds locally and then shopping locally they see how a dollar can circulate many times within a community. They also learn social studies and some math by keeping track of the funds and creating graphs.