Noun: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortunate, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate suffering
In September, we spent quite a bit of time talking about the importance of showing others compassion. In discussing compassion, we read the book Lily and the Paper Man by Rebecca Upjohn. In this book, Lily, walking home from school with her mother, runs straight into a gruff and untidy man selling papers on the street. Frightened, Lily insists on taking the bus home every day worried to run into him again. As the weather turns cold, Lily starts to see the Paper Man differently; she sees his bare toes through the holes in his boots and his thin shirt through the holes in his coat. As she lies in her warm bed at night she wonders about the Paper Man and how he stays warm. Lily comes up with an idea to give the Paper Man warm socks, a hat, gloves, scarf, and a quilt she has no more use for. It is a gentle story about the value of compassion.
Upon reading this story, the Cottontails wanted to know how they could show compassion for others - how they could help. We are excited to announce that our older friends, the Burrowing Owls, are beginning a week long canned food drive for our neighbors at the River Community Church Food Pantry. Please take a look at the letter below written to you from the Owl students. This will give you more information regarding the Food Drive. Along with this week's Food Drive, Willowwind is also hosting a Costume Drive. Until October 12th bring in your new or gently used costumes to help out those local children who may not have a fun Halloween costume otherwise.
A Letter From the Students in the Burrowing Owl Class
Dear Parents and Kids,
The Burrowing Owl class is organizing a food drive for people that do not have enough money to afford good food. Did you know that this year, forty-nine million people struggled with hunger and sixteen million of those people are children? We are collecting it for the River Community Church Food Pantry. The food that we would like you to bring is anything canned, such as tuna, soup, beans, chili, fruit, pastas, or anything that is easy to cook. Please bring the food for the Harvest Festival on October 6. You can bring the food anytime between October 1 and October 8. You may put the canned goods in the two bins in the entryway at the front of the school. We will be having a food drive four times this year. We are asking the entire school building, including the preschoolers to bring food. Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
The Burrowing Owl Class
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