Saturday Saver iShopTopeka Coupon Clipper Bus. In a nationwide trend, elementary-age children increasingly are donating time and gifts to worthy causes. For years, middle school students at the Nativity of Mary School in Independence have done annual community service projects. But this year, children as young as 4 joined in helping to make blankets for newborn foster babies or collecting toiletries for nursing home residents. The children talked about how every stitch they made had to come from their heart.
Observers see a trend nationwide.
When I first got involved with this, the focus was on college kids, then high school. They will take that to their adulthood and continue volunteering. Sometimes, gifts from schoolchildren help keep social service agencies afloat when the holiday season ends and donations begin to drop off. They took us over the top. Making community service a requirement for high school graduation has been discussed in some schools, but no statewide requirement exists in Missouri or Kansas.