Students from public elementary schools across Springfield got to shop for new clothes, pillows, food and personal hygiene items Saturday.
The 11th Care to Learn Event, called Shop with a Hero, allowed 185 Springfield Public Schools students to spend more than $100 each. The event is typically held each year on the first Saturday in February.
Staff at each SPS elementary school chose five students with identified health, hunger and hygiene needs to participate in the special event. Those staff members, joined by Governor Mike Kehoe and his wife, Claudia, at the North Kansas Walmart, helped families shop.
Care to Learn founder Doug Pitt, Governor Kehoe, SPS Superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan and Care to Learn CEO Krystal Simon spoke before shoppers headed into the store. Pitt thanked everyone involved, including participants.
“To our families, to our kids who are the guests of honor today, thank you for letting us share today with you,” he said.
Simon said, while $100 might not seem like a lot to many, it’s huge for a child who can choose what they want to purchase.
“Sometimes we get in the hustle, bustle of, you know, we get to order groceries or we do something like that, and they just get so excited that they get to pick out a pineapple,” she said, “or they get to pick out…a brand new pillowcase maybe that has like a fun cartoon on it or, you know, they’re picking out pajamas because they know that pajama day is coming up and maybe they don’t have a fun pair of pajamas. And so, it’s just a beautiful reminder of the work that we do.”
She said that work allows children to walk into their classrooms and have self-confidence.
“If you really want to get to the heart of what Care to Learn does and who we serve,” said Pitt, “it’s kind of a bittersweet day because you see some of the need, but at the same time you see the smiles and the joy on their face.”
Both Pitt and Simon said at a time when the country is so divided politically, an event like Shop with a Hero brings all sides together to make sure children’s health, hunger and hygiene needs are met.
