Story by Ainsley Hall
GERRARDSTOWN — Gerrardstown Elementary School put together a fundraiser called Pennies for Prevention to help support the Juvenile Opioid Treatment, Intervention and Prevention Program (JOTIPP).
Throughout Red Ribbon Week, classes competed to see who could collect the most pennies. With a school of around 200 students, $300 in pennies was raised to give to kids affected by the opioid pandemic.
JOTIPP works toward helping school-age children who have been affected by drug abuse. According to the Berkeley County website on prevention, parental drug abuse is one of the leading causes of children being put into foster care.
Christine Redstreake, school counselor at Gerrardstown Elementary, first started Pennies for Prevention when she was working at Mountain Ridge Intermediate School.
“When I worked at Mountain Ridge, since Red Ribbon Week and College Career Week come right after the other, many counselors have to choose one to really focus on,” Redstreake said. “I chose Red Ribbon, because drug abuse affects kids in our county more than people know. Coming down to the elementary level, we focus more on teaching them how to make healthy lifestyle choices.”
Throughout Red Ribbon week, the students collected over $300 worth of pennies, with the winning class collecting $80 worth of pennies alone. The winning team received a sundae party, where students were reminded of the real reason why they collected the pennies and solidified the content they were learning that week.
Redstreake believes it’s important to teach students to give back to other kids and learn to be grateful for everything they have.
“I loved seeing the excitement of the students as they try to win the prize, but I also enjoyed seeing all their work knowing that the money was going to a good cause,” Redstreake said. “Kids giving back to kids is powerful. And if a kid can do it, why can’t a 30-something adult? They are leading by example and showing others why it’s important to give back to others.”
By teaching elementary-level students about making healthy life choices and advocating for themselves, it will make it easier for them to say no to drugs later in life and seek help when they need it.
Redstreake hopes that this won’t just last during Red Ribbon Week. She hopes both parents and teachers will continue to encourage their students to make good choices and support kids throughout Berkeley County who are struggling.