Bountiful Birthday Box at Beverly Farms Elementary School

BOUNTIFUL BIRTHDAY BOX AT BEVERLY FARMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 18, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
OF MARYLAND
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY JUNE 18, 2004

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to recognize my constituents at Beverly Farms Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland.

For two years, teachers and students at Beverly Farms have been participating in the Birthday Box Program which allows children to donate duplicate toys and gifts to homeless shelters and other community schools and organizations in Montgomery County. I am proud to note that another school in my congressional district, DuFief Elementary School in Gaithersburg, initiated the concept of the Birthday Box.

Students, parents, and teachers at Beverly Farms also participate in numerous service projects which include walks for the homeless and volunteering at the Stepping Stones Shelter.

Mr. Speaker, Beverly Farms Elementary School is putting smiles on children's faces and lifting spirits throughout our community. It is my honor to submit for the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD an article published in The Gazette by Amy Reardon on the inspirational work done by the students at Beverly Farms and the great goodwill they are achieving.

GIFT BOX ENSURES THAT MORE CHILDREN HAVE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

(By Amy Reardon)

Ten-year-old Christine Antonsen has so many toys she hasn't had the chance to play with all of them.

Last year when her mother asked her to clean her room, Antonsen found birthday and holiday gifts, still wrapped in plastic, crammed in her closet and under her bed. She had never opened the stained glass art kit, flower printing kit or sand art kit stashed beneath her clothes and toys, so she decided to donate them to Beverly Farms Elementary School's Bountiful Birthday Box.

Antonsen is one of more than 50 students who have contributed to the birthday box program, which has students deliver duplicate gifts for donation to county shelters, community organizations and Beverly Farms' sister school Maryvale Elementary School in Rockville.

Antonsen's mother, Tracy Toppings, the PTA's community service committee chair, was inspired to start the program by the number of toys her daughter had but did not use. It is a concept the school borrowed from DuFief Elementary School in Gaithersburg.

For the past two years, students at Beverly Farms have chosen to donate duplicate birthday, holiday and bar/bat mitzvah gifts to the school's Bountiful Birthday Box instead of returning the items for more loot.

"If you get a present that you already have on your birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah or any of those holidays, you can return it," said 7-year-old Nicholas Muscarella. "But if you put it in the birthday box, it goes to families that don't have enough money to buy presents."

Each month students are reminded to bring in duplicate gifts instead of returning them. Big presents, such as board games and dolls, go to Stepping Stones Shelter in Rockville and the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda. Small donations, such as decks of cards, go to Beverly Farm's sister-school Maryvale for its school store.

"If kids don't get any birthday presents they won't feel very happy, so we're donating to them," said 7-year-old Rachel Rabinovitz.

The birthday box allows Stepping Stones Shelter-a 90-day homeless shelter for families in need-to throw birthday parties for children living there, said Tina McKendree, executive director.

"The children in the shelter often don't get new things," McKendree said. "If they can open something that is brand new, it makes it that much more special.

"They also know there are other children out there, who care about them. It helps keep their spirits up during a difficult time."

Toppings said the box is only a small part of the school's community service program. Beverly Farms PTA formed its community service committee three years ago after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and directs most of its service projects to Stepping Stones Shelter and Maryvale Elementary.

The committee's biggest annual event is the Fannie Mae Foundation's Help the Homeless walk, which raises money for Stepping Stones Shelter.

Tying itself to two organizations has made the program easy to maintain and allows the group to address needs as they arise, according to Toppings.

The partnership with Stepping Stones Shelter began when the school first hosted a homeless walk in 2000.

Over the years, the school's service to the shelter has spawned independent volunteerism from the Beverly Farms community. Students have donated their allowances while families and scouting troops have gone to the shelter to volunteer: cooking dinner, reading to children or throwing holiday parties, McKendree said.

"Through the partnership the kids learn more about the homeless and how they can get involved," McKendree said.

The sister-school concept, which links schools through resources and activities, is not unique to Maryvale and Beverly Farms. Compared to the 3 percent of students who receive free and reduced-price meals at Beverly Farms, 40 percent of students at Maryvale participate in the program.

"The idea behind the program is to be aware of differences in the community both ethnically and economically," Toppings said.

Laura Marantz, school guidance counselor at Beverly Farms who collects donations to the birthday box, said the emphasis on community service and donations teaches the children empathy and generosity at a young age.

"[The birthday box program] helps them have perspective and realize how fortunate they are," Marantz said.