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School focused on Good Samaritan effort

JANESVILLE — Jonathan Jones, 5, knows the story of the Good Samaritan.

"In the Bible story—Mrs. Holcomb read it—the Samaritan was nice," Jonathan said.

Being "nice" is a simplified way of describing a new project at Rock County Christian School.

Each of the schools grades, K to 12, will be undertaking a community service project, explained Tim Befus, school administrator.

It's part of a gentle effort to combat our culture's self-centeredness.

"We kind of live in a ‘me-first' world," Befus said.

So students and teachers looked around to see where they could serve and came up with the motto, "each one, serve one."

The Kindergarteners, an ambitious and kind group of 5-year-olds, decided to deliver baked goods their neighbors.

"We need to be kind to our neighbors and people around the world," Sheri Holcomb told her students.

They smiled and wriggled their agreement.

For their first trip, they took brownies to Miss Pat and Mr. Dan, who live by the school's Driftwood Drive campus near the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.

Isabella Fisher, 5, said that their neighbors were "really old," but were very kind. Miss Pat showed them pictures of her family and friends, and gave them some mittens she had knitted. Mr. Dan gave them a giant box of sidewalk chalk.

Staff members thought it was important that students make a yearlong commitment to their projects. That would give them time to form relationships with people rather than just perform a single good deed.

"We think it will be good for people we're serving and good for the students, too," Befus said. "They'll get involved with other people and see another side of life."

SCHOOL PROJECTS

Kindergarten: Visits to the elderly in the neighborhood.

First: Making tray favors for Meals on Wheels of Beloit.

Second: Cedar Crest Daycare, monthly visits.

Third: Second Harvest, packing food for distribution.

Fourth: Writing to school alum Neal Terpstra, who is at the Air Force Academy and projects with Love Inc.

Fifth: Letters to pastors and visits to Riverside Terrace for programs and games.

Sixth: Living Waters Center helping with meals and clothing.

Seventh: Writing to military servicemen Ryan Thorpe and Matthew Burnett.

Eighth: Writing encouraging notes to area pastors.

Ninth: Shoes for Haiti.

Tenth: Organize AIDS walk to raise funds.

Eleventh: Volunteer at Boys and Girls Club.

Twelfth: Delivering Meals on Wheels.