Superior fourth-grade teacher Stacy Crabb seems to have as much fun helping Mineral County families at Christmas as her students do in spreading joy.

For more years than she can remember, Crabb’s class has raised funds to purchase gifts locally for families who could use a little extra support during the holiday season. 

“Although there would be more options at stores in Missoula, I take the opportunity to talk with the kids about the economy and how this project puts money back into the community,” Crabb said.

Students shopped in small groups of three or four, accompanied by an adult chaperone, at Darlow’s Quality Foods/ACE Hardware and Mineral Pharmacy. They were allowed to select gifts for infants through 18-year-olds. Along the way, students practiced important math skills. 

“The kids must use math concepts like rounding and adding to select their items without going over their allotted amount,” Crabb explained.

Once purchased, the gifts were delivered to the Mineral County Health Department, where MCHD Director Jenn Donovan along with Lyle Batt and other volunteers organized and wrapped the presents based on applications received from families. The Superior LIONS Club then delivered the gifts, along with food baskets, to families throughout Mineral County.

As part of the project, coin collection cans were placed in early kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms and in several local businesses for two weeks. The message on the cans read: Superior fourth graders are sponsoring a coin collection to buy presents to ensure that all children have a gift under the tree. Toys will be purchased locally and donated to the Superior Lions Club for their annual Christmas baskets. Trails West graciously counted the donations and calculated totals for each participating class.

Crabb noted that students do not know who they are shopping for. They are given a budget and age range and encouraged to have fun. 

“The gifts are for children across Mineral County whose families submitted an application to the LIONS Club requesting gift and food delivery,” she said. 

The LIONS Club organized three to four delivery groups, each featuring a Santa and elves, to distribute the gifts between Alberton and Saltese. Deliveries took place on Dec. 20, the Saturday before Christmas every year.

This year’s fundraising totals by class were as follows: Early Kindergarten (McElroy) $146.67; Kindergarten (LaPierre) $127.85; First Grade (Ishler) $8.84; First/Second Grade (Nagy) $130.01; Second Grade (Willhite) $79.00; Third Grade (Nygaard) $99.07; Third Grade (Markuson) $34.53; Fourth Grade (Crabb) $243.73; Fourth Grade (Rugg) $52.48; Fifth Grade (Smith) $0.96; Fifth Grade (Kuhl) $94.52; Sixth Grade (Hopwood) $97.17. Local businesses also contributed through collection containers, including S & S Grocery ($172.08), Mineral Pharmacy ($40.01), and Darlow’s Quality Foods ($78.64), bringing the grand total raised to $1,405.56.

The class that raised the most money earned an ice cream party, which was Mrs. Crabb’s fourth-grade class. However, her students chose to donate the party to Ms. McElroy’s EK class, saying they felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to do the shopping themselves, with each student able to spend $54.