Farmin-Stidwell students create care baskets for hospital patients

By Reader Staff

Fifth-grade students at Farmin-Stidwell Elementary School decided they wanted to give something back to the community during the holiday season, sending care baskets to kids and adults at Bonner General Health.

“There is nothing greater than receiving heartfelt gifts from children during the holidays,” the hospital stated in a news release. “Bonner General Health is honored to be the recipient of Farmin-Stidwell fifth-graders’ generosity.” 

Teacher Rebecca Benoit said the idea came from her students’ “what I need” time during the school day. She asked the students to focus on a service project for the community and were asked to look at areas of need. 

Benoit had each project group research the organization they chose, create a spreadsheet with all the necessary tasks to complete their mission and listed costs. 

Among the projects they selected were the BGH care baskets, which included curated items to make anyone feel better: a felt blanket, various games, books, candy and other items. 

Students held a popcorn sale to raise funds for purchasing the items, which resulted in 15 baskets being delivered to the hospital. 

When asked what the students thought about the project, Benoit said several responded, “It makes you feel good to do good things.”  

“It is always great to see our young people learning about our community, including thinking about those in need,” BGH CEO John Hennessy stated. “We sincerely appreciate these beautiful baskets and our patients will be happy to receive them.”